Ridiculously Simple
by DiGi Kurosaki
Summary: 14 year old Kudou Shinichi is confronted by a missing persons case involving a dead magician and suspicious older gentleman. But this case could be more than he bargained for when he meets Kuroba Kaito... who basically hates his guts.
1. A Strange Occurance

**Been wanting to get this typed up for a while now, so here you go!**

_**Rated T to be safe.**_

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Sherlock Holmes: the sharpest mind of the age, regardless of fictional status. None could match "the most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen."

_Kudou Shinichi_

_14_

_Teitan Junior High School_

_Football Captain_

_Chuugakkoo Tantei_

Irene Adler: "to Sherlock Holmes she was always the woman." An enigma. Irene was a force of incredible wit and dominance, outwitting even Holmes himself.

_Miyano Shiho_

_15_

_London Academy of Science_

_Black Organization Scientist_

"_SHERRY"_

Arsène Lupin: the gentleman burglar. A romantic and charming criminal. Always seeming to win out over Holmes…but just by the skin of his teeth.

_Kuroba Kaito_

_14_

_Ekoda Junior High School_

_President of the "Magic Club"_

_Magician Extraordinaire_

Mycroft Holmes: the most brilliant man in the world perhaps, but the most uninspired. Able to beat Holmes at his own game, but choosing, instead, a more humble life.

_Kudou Yuusaku_

_34_

_Former Private Detective_

_Novelist_

"_The Night Baron"_

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**23 August 2005 - 9:38

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**

The small porcelain cup clanked as it came into contact with the wood of the table, the dark liquid inside swirling fiercely as if protesting this mistreatment. Newsprint crinkled as brusque hands folded it carelessly, the ink blotching soft fingertips and palms.

Shinichi opened his mouth to yawn a bit, his jaw creaking in response and small drops forming at the corners of his eyes. His hands abandoned the paper on his lap as his arms reached toward the hanging lamp above him. He blinked slowly before taking in another gulp of his liquid addiction before returning to the headlines of the Law & Society section.

A resounding ding-dong rand through the rooms, echoing in resonance. Shinichi looked in the direction of the door with a bored expression, wondering who would possibly be disturbing his Sunday morning; the one day he had away from school.

He frowned as he stood, stretching a bit more before folding the paper neatly and setting it down squarely next to the mug. He slid the chair in, prone to the manners that had been oh so delicately shoved down his throat as a child, and slid his feet as he dawdled to the door. The doorbell had stopped by this time and the annoyance began pounding on the cherry finish of the oak doors. Shinichi's frown grew at the abuse. How had they gotten past the front gate anyway?

"Hai! I'm coming!" he called in frustration, but this person was obviously distressed because the pounding continued. He groaned at reaching the door, wondering if he had left the front gate unlocked the previous night after movie night with Ran and Sonoko. Maybe it was Ran herself, come to take him to mall to catch all the wonderful Sunday bargains before they were all gone.

Finding the latch and opening the door just enough to allow him sight of the person, he was greeted with an elderly man, hardly decrepit but with quite a vacancy on the top of his head. He donned a black suit, not expensive but emitting and air of dignity. The elderly gentleman was wringing his hands - anxious or worried? - as he glanced over what he could see of the boy.

He had been suspecting Ran or perhaps a delivery from his parents, but an elderly man to whom he had no connection was more interesting.

"Ah, ohayo, Kudou-san!" he spoke jubilantly. "My name is Konousuke Jii. I have a request for you." Shinichi nodded once in response, a little taken aback. "I have already spoken to a few private investigators and they've all called my case impossible. Heavens! I've even gone to the police and they were stumped as well! They said that if I was truly adamant about this, and I am, that I should come to see you. They said that you can see clues that normal adults cannot."

"Konousuke-san, I-" he started.

"Iie. Please call me Jii."

Shinichi ran it through his mind a few more times before answering. "Alright…Jii-san. You have to calm down. Please come in and make yourself at home."

"Arigatou."

Shinichi led him inside to the library and study, motioning for him to have a set. Finally comfortable in their seats, Jii on the couch and Shinichi in the arm chair, the younger began to inquire of the man's distress.

"Sumimasen…" he began. "My memory has become a bit vague over the years but I believe it was five years ago. I've been so worried that the time has just flown by."

"That's quite alright, Jii-san. Just take your time."

He nodded. "I…I was living in Master's house, as an apprentice of sorts. It's not far from here, actually…"

"His name?"

Jii looked confused. "What?"

"This 'Master'. What was his name?"

"Oh! Kuroba Touichi was his name."

"I see, and what were you an 'apprentice of sorts' of?" Shinichi asked, jotting a note here and there.

"Magic. Touichi-sama was a magician," Jii answered brightly. Shinichi didn't miss the change in address.

"Was he a well-known man?"

Jii hesitated before muttering, "Well, depends on what you mean by 'well-known'…"

"What was that?" Shinichi asked, not catching it.

"Ah, sorry. Yes, as a magician he was quite famous. Had a few friends in the law-enforcement as well." Jii chuckled. "But he passed all that time ago; you must have been a mere child."

"My condolences."

"Arigatou gozaimasu, Kudou-san. As I was saying, Touichi-sama was the greatest magician; top-class!" Jii grew silent, trailing his last few words. "But not amazing enough…"

"What happened, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Oh, no. It's nothing. Touichi-sama died in an accident on stage five years ago."

"I see. Please continue."

"He was a noble man with a wife and son, but…"

"'But…'?" Shinichi urged.

"Just before the accident, he sent his family away."

"Why is that?" he asked and Jii became a bit flustered, not unnoticed by Shinichi.

"Th-that's not the problem. My request for you, Kudou-san, is to find them. Kuroba Minami and Kuroba Kaito. I haven't seen them since."

"Why is it so important?"

"What?"

"Jii-san," Shinichi started seriously, leaning forward. He knew enough now to know that this man wasn't dangerous. "You've gone to countless detectives, even the police, and you're desperate enough to come here to a mere boy. I don't like to believe that most people think I can't help but the truth is that they do. There is definitely more to this than you want to divulge."

"No, really! I just figured, when they told me about you, that maybe you could go undercover as a student if there were any leads."

"Undercover?" Shinichi raised an eyebrow.

"H-hai. Bocchama would be about fourteen now as well."

"Alright, but there aren't any leads to suggest where he might be going to school. Besides the fact that we don't have any recent pictures."

"Well, actually, I'm sure he would look a lot like you."

"I beg your pardon?"

"You. You're the spitting image of Master."

Shinichi decided it was best not to argue the point since he didn't know what the man looked like anyway. "Regardless, you seem to have done some research on me."

"What do you mean?"

"For one, you knew my face."

"The police showed me a picture."

"I'm afraid that's impossible. Even if my family were to know someone in the police, one: how would you know? And two: why would they recommend me and not my father? If you went to the police, you must know that they see me as about as reliable on a case as a seven-year-old. They don't trust me, even if they know what I can do. Which may lead to the idea that they're just making fun of me with an impossible case, but I would prefer to steer clear of that assumption. Or the thought that this is a ploy of my dad's.

"And another thing: they would never open police files to a civilian. The last picture I took, before the one in my police file, is with my parents from when I was nine. And how would you know my age?" It was almost as if Shinichi's entire thought process was spilling out.

"You're famous." Jii was obviously uncomfortable.

"Heh. Like I said, the police don't trust me so I've only worked on a total of three cases with them. Not enough to even the attention of the mass media. No, you researched me before you came. You had me in mind. I'm not sure why, but I'm sure I will figure it out.

"In the meantime, why don't you give me your phone number, go home to rest, and I will start looking." Shinichi concluded, standing.

"Really?"

"Of course."

"Oh, arigatou-gozaimasu, Kudou-san! I'll pay you handsomely, my dear boy! Please find Bocchama." He stood, folling Shinichi as he led him to the door. He penned the phone number on his hand, having left the tablet, and they bid their farewells. Jii continued to ramble his thanks.

When it was finally quiet again, Shinichi went back to the study and recorded the number. Glancing at a few noticeable points in his notes, Shinichi sat down to continue pondering his predicament.

He knew something was off. Konousuke Jii was keeping something from him, but with only the information he had been given, there was no way for him to figure it out. If the man had planned out exactly what he was going to tell him, he was very good at keeping the secret, but not so good at keeping the secret a secret…which made better sense in his head.

Kuroba Touichi sent his wife and son away before his performance, suggesting that the man knew that something bad was going to happen. He feared for their safety. That insinuates that his death wasn't an accident, but premeditated murder. So why was Jii trying to avoid his questions on the subject? Best way to figure that out would be to snoop through the report.

That being so, Kuroba Touichi probably confided the information to someone in order to protect the family. Now, if he could find out who that person was he would be well on his way to finding the location of the family.

Shinichi stood up. Just sitting there thinking wasn't accomplishing much. He hadn't been a real detective for two years yet, but even a child would know that a little leg work was required.

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**Hope you enjoyed! R&R!**

**_-DiGi_**


	2. For A Little While

**Chapter 2! Right quick!** (btw: _Disclaimer! I do not own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito_)

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"_Kaa-san! Kaa-san!" a young boy with dark brown locks and a beaming grin called as he practically flew down the steps of the Beika City Preschool toward his mother. She smiled brightly, lowering herself down to pull him into an embrace as he reached her. He squeezed her as tight as he could, grunting with the effort._

"_How was your day, Shin-chan?" the young mother asked the small boy, her mouse-colored curls bouncing with joy as he looked up at her._

"_It was great, Kaa-san! You won't believe it! I already memorized the whole 'ma' column and all the other kids are still on 'a'!" the young Shinichi chirped happily, vocabulary already advanced past that of an ordinary boy his age._

_Kudou Yukiko smiled, hugging the little boy closer. He was growing up faster than she was prepared for. _What am I ever gonna do when he grows up? _she thought to herself._

"_Kaa-san!" Shinichi squealed, attempting to wriggle out of her grasp._

"_Oh! Gomen ne, Shin-chan!" she chuckled, loosening her hold when she realized where she was. She stood up, holding a hand out for him to take. "Time to go home now, Shin-chan." Shinichi took a step back and shook his head to her immense surprise. He only smiled. "What's wrong?"_

"_We can't go yet! Kaa-san has to meet someone first!"_

_Her heart dropped. "Please don't tell me it's Yamaguchi-sensei again. I told you a thous-"_

_Shinichi cut her off. "Iie! Iie! Yamaguchi-sensei said he didn't want see me again today. No, I want you to meet my new friend."_

"_Your friend? Well then, I would love to meet him," she answered with a smile._

"_Iie! She's not a 'him'! Mou, Kaa-san…" he whined as if she was automatically supposed to know the gender of her son's new friend._

"_Gomenasai, Shin-chan," she apologized, clapping her hands together. "I would love to meet _her_."_

"_I'll go get her!" he exclaimed, bounding back to the entrance of the school. Yukiko watched as he skidded to a stop in front of a little girl with short, chocolate-colored hair. She was holding the hand of a tall woman in a grey-blue pantsuit. Yukiko supposed that this was the little thing's mother._

_Shinichi suddenly grabbed the surprised girl's hand, jerking her away from her mother, and half dragging her over to meet her._

"_Kaa-san, this is Ran-chan!" he announced proudly. The girl didn't seem hurt, but a little shocked, staring up at her with wide, cerulean eyes._

_The little girl made a feeble attempt at a bow with her arm still his grasp. "Hajimemashite, Kudou-san."_

_Yukiko only frowned, bending down to release the child's arm from her son's fist._

"_Kudou Shinichi! That is NO way to treat a young lady! You should be ashamed!" She shook her finger at him to stress her point._

"_Wha..?" he stuttered._

"_And tearing her away from her mother like that…_Really _Shinichi. I think I'll give Suzuka-san a call to schedule extra etiquette lessons." Shinichi's head was lowered in shame._

"…_gomenasai…" he mumbled._

"_Not to me," Yukiko stated as the other parent reached them. She hadn't seemed to be in a rush. "Apologize to Ran-chan and her mother."_

"_Demo, Kaa-san-!"_

"Shinichi_…" she growled. He caught on, turning to face the two and bowing perfectly._

"_Gomenasai!" he shouted in desperation._

"_Much better," she said with a triumphant smile, turning to the girl's mother. "I'm so sorry. We've been trying to teach him proper manners but it seems that he still has a long way to go."_

"_That's quite alright. Boys will be boys," the lady answered, pony-tail swishing. She pushed up her glasses. "Ran here seems to think she's one of them." She motioned to the girl. Both she and Shinichi were now ignoring the adults and consumed in senseless chatter of their own. "We've done everything possible to get her to act like a lady, but no matter what we try, she still wants to learn karate and hang out with the boys. Her father is having a field-day…" Yukiko giggled._

"_You never know. That karate might just come in handy one day. She's pretty enough to have to fend off all sorts of boys."_

"_Don't let her father hear you saying that." The both laughed, and after a few minutes, the woman continued. "Sumimasen. I'm Mouri Eri, Ran's mother obviously." She held out her hand, Yukiko taking it._

"_I'm Kudou Yukiko. Shinichi's mother." As their hands dropped, Yukiko's face screwed up in thought._

"_Something wrong, Kudou-san?" Eri asked._

"_Hmm, you said 'Mouri', right?" Eri nodded. Yukiko smiled brightly. "Ne, ne! You wouldn't be Kogorou-kun's wife, now would you?"_

"_He's my husband, yes. I didn't think about it, but if you said 'Kudou' then you must be Yuusaku-san's wife, am I right?" she asked._

"_Mm!" Yukiko hummed with a smile. The two woman didn't remember each other at the time, but they knew the other through marriage. "Funny we should meet like this."_

"_It is, isn't it?" Eri giggled._

"_You know, you two should stop around for tea!" Yukiko cheered._

"_Right now?" Eri asked, worried, but Yukiko seemed oblivious as she nodded in excitement. "I mean, we wouldn't want to intrude…"_

"_Baka baka shi! Yuu-chan won't be in till later this evening. He's helping Megure-keiji with a case and since we don't have any relatives in the area, we don't get as many visitors as I would like. Besides, I'm sure Shin-chan would _love_ to have his new girlfriend over," she giggled. The two in question looked up at them, Shinichi turning a bright crimson and Ran a light rose. He muttered something about 'friends' and she just smiled. "Ikuzo, Shinichi." He shut up and obliged, following his mother in embarrassed silence._

_The trip was filled with gossip between the two mothers as well as chatter about their husbands, their children and other such home-life subjects._

_

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_It had been a productive morning for Kudou Shinichi. After he had woken up from a fairly nostalgic dream about his childhood and his best friend, he had proceeded in borrowing a police file on Kuroba Touichi's fatal "accident"…well, borrowed might not have been the right word for it…'boosted' was more like it, but it was all in the name of justice so who was he to deny himself access to it when it was just laying about…in a cabinet…in a restricted room…

Apparently, the police had filed it as an accident merely because the trick that was being performed at the time was dangerous…and they had no idea how it worked. Kuroba Touichi's body was found about ten kilometers away from the stage, supposedly a result of the explosion that occurred during the trick.

The trick was called "Bullet Catch". It's a classic trick where the assistant fires a bullet, previously marked by an audience member, at the magician and he is to catch it in his teeth. It is then revealed to the audience that it was the same bullet marked. A classic. But Kuroba Touichi put his own spin on things, proving to Shinichi once again, having reviewed the magician's earlier work, that this was a innovationist. It was a spin known as dynamite. The new idea was that Touchi would be standing behind a bullet-proof glass wall doused in gasoline and a stack of dynamite was placed behind him. The gun used was to be a sniper, powerful enough to rip through him and hit the dynamite, or possibly ignite the gasoline before even reaching him. The assistant, a highly trained professional would shoot through the glass, hopefully avoiding the gasoline, and he would catch the previously marked bullet in his teeth. No explosions and a large hole

The more he read, the more impossible it seemed. He had apparently performed the trick live only one time prior to the incident. It obviously went horribly wrong, according to the eyewitness reports. When the marksman fired, the whole stage went up. The glass ignited and the bullet went straight through Kuroba Touichi to hit the explosives. A nasty end for a few dozen people and massive injuries to the rest.

The police, baffled at how such a professional could make such a mistake, labeled it an accident. The man had no reason to commit suicide and regardless of the sniper bullet found in him, the police didn't know if it was part of the trick that went wrong or foul play. The sniper's body was never found so there were no leads. Sarah Walker, his assistant and marksman in many of his tricks, just disappeared off the face of the Earth. Definitely not a coincidence. Either Miss. Walker killed him of her own volition, was hired to kill him by a third party, or she was threatened and later killed when the threatened found her to no longer be of use.

Of course, an evil organization never even crossed the mind of the naïve Kudou Shinichi. What did he know of strange syndicates with actresses who could impersonate anyone?

Besides all of that, it was another case to add to his checklist.

His main question right then was 'Who wanted a famous magician dead and why?'

Moving on with the report he noted the bullet hole and the other burns to the body. It was unlikely that the bullet came from another gun and the explosion was definitely caused by the dynamite; no strange color or smoke to suggest otherwise.

Shinichi leaned back on the couch in the study, stretching out and ruffling his half-buttoned shirt in the process, mentally thanking himself for his offhanded morning dressing habits. It would have been embarrassing the other day if he had been in his pajamas when Jii arrived. He looked up at the ceiling and smiled. It was a simple smile, but it held all the joy he felt in solving a case.

"This is the challenge I've been pining for…" he muttered happily to himself if these dealings of murder and missing persons were paintings by Van Gough. The boy was nearly a madman in his element.

* * *

_Shinichi has been acting weird…_ Ran thought, her elbow placed gently on her desk, her cheek resting on her hand. The mentioned boy was in the next row, two seats back, mumbling and scribbling fervently. _He never works this hard in class._

Moroboshi-sensei cleared his throat at the front of the room, having finished the day's lecture in World Economics and Japan's Policies. The students stopped their note-scribbling to look. Except Shinichi of course, for he wasn't paying attention to the class anyway. His surroundings were, at the moment, unknown to him.

"Now, as you all are aware," he began, "next week we will be bringing in numerous people from the Tokyo area to talk to all you about careers. Any questions? Alright." There had been no pause. "There are pamphlets of information on my desk. When the bell rings, please take one before you leave." Not two seconds passed before a loud chime announced the end of the school day. The students leapt to their feet, some reaching the door in mere moments. After a single minute had passed, only Ran, Shinichi, and Sonoko remained in the room with the teacher. Only half the stack of flyers were missing.

As Ran continued packing her supplies slowly into her bag, Sonoko whining, she noticed something odd: Shinichi was still scratching away at his notebook, paying no mind to the bell or the two girls. He merely continued working on whatever it was he _was _working on, almost trance-like; nothing was penetrating his mind but what it was already focused on.

"Wow! Watch the detective-geek go!" Sonoko teased, but he ignored her. "Oi!"

"Sonoko! Leave him alone. If he wants to finally get serious about his schoolwork then who are we to stop him?" Ran said with a smile.

"That's it!" They jumped, looking at the boy. Shinichi was grinning like mad. He quickly circled something on the paper, closed the notebook, and threw it in his bag. In two bounding steps, he was already to the front of the room aiming to leave.

"Kudou-san." He halted at the voice of his teacher, turning to face him.

"Hai, Moroboshi-sensei?" he questioned, a little worried that he was in trouble for ignoring the lesson.

"Take a pamphlet." He motioned to the stack of folded papers that remained untouched on his desk. Slowly, Shinichi strode over to pick one up, flipping through it curiously.

"What's it for?"

"You may leave, Kudou-kun," the man sighed, used to the boy's antics at this point.

Shinichi chuckled awkwardly, a little ashamed that he hadn't been paying any attention at all during the class. Nonetheless, he turned to exit the room, tucking the paper into his bag along with his books.

"Ah! Shinichi! Chotto matte!" Ran called, chasing after him.

"Oi, Ran! Mou…" Sonoko growled, following suit. They barely caught up with him at the end of the hallway, his strides matching at least two of their own.

"Shinichi!" Ran called once more, almost colliding with him as he stopped dead and spun to face her.

"Ran, what is it?" he asked in surprise.

"I said to wait. We're walking home together, right?" she gasped, out of breath.

"Oh, gomen ne, Ran. I've got some work to do. I need to go and talk to the headmaster first so go ahead without me. I'll see you later." He turned, waving goodbye before dashing towards the office.

"Shinichi!"

Kudou Shinichi waving goodbye. Kudou Shinichi running off. Kudou Shinichi leaving her with no information as to what was going on. Ran definitely did NOT like the feeling she was getting. It could only mean trouble.

"Just let him go," Sonoko scoffed as she turned to leave. "Holmes-geek…"

Ran stood there for a moment before turning to follow. He couldn't be getting into too much trouble now could he?

* * *

"You want to do _what_!?" the older man croaked, praying to the gods that this boy was not serious in his proposal. But judging by his face and history, he most likely was.

"I said, I want to temporarily transfer schools," Kudou Shinichi repeated, even more determined than he was the first time he had said it. The headmaster stared for a moment before closing his eyes and laying his head on his desk slowly. Shinichi was unsure what was going on. "Sir?"

"One moment…" the man muttered. It had been a long, terrible day for him. Two students had been found with spray paint by Rec Room 3, a teacher left early due to chronic stomach pain leaving no substitute, the hamster from class 7-B had been eaten by the snake from class 8-D, and now a student was trying to transfer schools by himself for no apparent reason…

It was a long moment, but he finally raised himself to look sternly at him. "Now, Kudou-san. Why is it that you feel the need to 'temporarily' transfer schools?"

"I'm on a case and in order to accomplish what my client has asked, I would need to interact with the students at a particular school," he answered matter-of-factly, as if it were a common occurrence for fourteen-year-old boys to be solving missing persons cases.

"A…case?"

"Yes."

"What are you trying to do exactly?"

"Find someone. Two someones actually."

"And for whatever reason, that only Kami knows, you can't do that from _this _school. Is that where this is going?" the headmaster sighed.

"Correct. The boy goes to Ekoda Junior High School."

"A student! Oh, there it is…the predicament…"

Shinichi began to explain. "Yes, you see…"

"Stop. I do not care. I have learned to not deal with your detective affairs, Kudou-san. But here's a thought. Why not just ask the headmaster there if the student in question attends?"

"Well…I…because it's possible that he may have changed his name in the time since he's been missing. He went into hiding after all."

The man frowned, not quite willing to let it slide but continued. "Ekoda, you say? My cousin is a teacher there. Been having a few issues with pranks lately…"

"I'm aware."

Realizing that this was not going to deter the boy, he took another approach. "Well, how do your parents feel about this?"

Shinichi blinked. "They're in America. They wouldn't mind."

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Of course."

The headmaster caved. "Alright then. If you wouldn't mind having them fill out the paperwork I would be _overjoyed _to fulfill your request." He and Shinichi stood, the man filing through a drawer before pulling out a packet of forms.

"But…they're in _America_," he protested. The man shoved the papers into his hands and shoved him out the door, slamming it behind him.

"UPS," he heard through the door.

He blinked a couple more times before asking no one in particular, "What's U-P-S?"

* * *

"_TRANSFERRING!?_" Shinichi jerked the phone as far from his ear as possible. "_Shin-chan! You can't be serious!_"

"I'm completely serious," he said, gingerly replacing the phone. "Besides, it's only temporary. A few weeks." His words fell on deaf ears.

"_Shin-chan! Both your parents and your grandparents, clear back since it's opening, have gone to Teitan!_" his mother sobbed through the phone.

"I said, it's only temporary! Just a few weeks!"

She grew silent. "Only_ a few weeks?_"

"Yes, Kaa-san."

"_You promise?_"

"Yes, Kaa-san."

Silence.

"_Alright,_" she sighed. "_But you should know, you almost gave your father a heart attack when he opened your package."_

_----------_

Kudou Yuusaku sat snoring at his desk, his book unfinished and ignoring the next day's dead line.

----------

"I know, I know…"

"_Where did you learn how to use UPS?_"

He ignored the question. "There's something I've really got to do at Ekoda," he explained.

"_You're so young, Shin-chan. I hate to see you working yourself like this._"

"I'm lucky if I get any cases at all," he deadpanned. "Besides, I'm fourteen. I live by myself. What does it matter?"

"_Don't say that Shin-chan! You make it sound like we're horrible parents!_"

"Well, if you were here I wouldn't have to pay 3000 yen to air-mail it to you."

_CLICK_

Shinichi stood up and stalked away. He was _not _in the mood to listen to his mother.

Two days later he received the papers and a few other gifts. Actually, a moving truck had been required to haul everything.

Shinichi gaped at the entryway. He could barely see an inch of the hardwood floor.

"Sir," a postman said, holding out his clipboard. "I'm gonna need you to sign here." Sighing, he took the pen and scribbled his name and stamping his seal. The man nodded and directed his workers out. Shinichi sat down on one of the many objects now residing in his home: a life-sized, overstuffed polar bear. It was huge. He sighed as he sank into the polyester and cotton.

"I guess I'll have to call Kaa-san later…"

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_Whoo! Chapter 2~ (Which was actually chapters 3 through 5 1/2 in my notebook...)_

_Don't be expecting updates like this! I've been sick for a week and needed something to do! (Questions? Please REVIEW!)_**  
**

_**REVIEW****:** mangaluva_

**_-DiGi_**


	3. 14, Football Captain, and Available

**DISCLAIMED**

_Yay! Chapter 3 is typed up early! (was planning for tomorrow)

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_

"Well, Kudou, everything seems to be in order," the headmaster said as he flipped through the paperwork. "I say, if we get these faxed over this morning, I'm sure we could have you ready in a week."

"Tomorrow."

The man looked up in confusion. "What do you mean, 'tomorrow'?"

"I would like to start classes tomorrow morning."

"I'm afraid that's not possible," he chuckled anxiously.

"Why is that?" Shinichi asked, genuinely confused.

"Why? For one thing, the paperwork needs to be looked over and filed."

"I know that it very well can't take a week."

"And the fact is," he continued, flustered by his unreasonable attitude. "Ekoda Junior High is in the middle of a crisis right now."

Shinichi perked up at the word. "'Crisis'? What sort of crisis?"

The principal waved away the words. "Nothing a _detective _needs to concern himself with, I assure you. It's just…you see, one of the students decided that it would be funny to booby-trap the entire school with pouches of goop, trip-wires, and a lot of paint. He even went so far as to put hair-dye in the locker room's shampoo. Now most of the student body has bright, gaudy hair colors." Shinichi winced. "It's nothing harmful, but for such wide-scale antics, I hardly think that a week's worth of detention is an acceptable punishment."

"Detention? A _week_?" Shinichi asked, dumbfounded. If someone had done that at Teitan, they would have gotten expelled.

"Yes, a week. It seems that they don't particularly believe in punishing him anymore seeing as it doesn't seem to be working. This is hardly his first offense."

"It must not be…" Shinichi muttered. The man harrumphed.

"Of course it's not! The first time he did something on this scale was two years ago when he made six teachers disappear, rabbits run through the gymnasium, and put a ferocious skunk in the teachers' lounge. For that, he got suspended for two weeks and a call to his mother." Shinichi was wide-eyed. Who was this kid?

"Oh…well, if you don't mind my asking, how do you know all this?"

"As I said before, my cousin is a teacher at Ekoda. One of the ones who he made disappear even…"

"Oh…"

"Yes. I pray for the poor man daily. But under these circumstances, I believe that it's impossible to send you over there this week at all."

"Please, sir. This is important. It has to do with a murder case," he begged. "Can't you talk to the headmaster?"

"A murder case? Oh dear…"

"_Please_. Kachou-san. I'm begging you to get me into that school tomorrow."

He sat staring at Shinichi for a moment before asking, "Is there a life in danger?"

"It…it might very well lead to that, sir, yes. Someone has died already and I'm afraid that they might go after that man's family." The headmaster paused once again at this statement and sullenly glanced out the window.

"Do you know what today is, Kudou?"

Shinichi stared at him, a little surprised at the sudden subject change. "Today? No, sir. I don't believe I do."

"Today is my son's birthday," he commented quietly.

"Congratulations, sir. May I ask, how old?"

"No you may not," the man snapped. Shinichi's eyebrows rose in surprise but he continued nonetheless. "But I must tell you. If I were to die, in a less than legal manner that is, and the folks who were involved with it were to come after my family, I would be rolling in my grave." He returned his gaze to the young adolescent before him. "I'll see what I can do." A wide smile spread across Shinichi's face and he rose to his feet in delight.

"Arigatou gozaimasu, Kachou-san!" The man stood as well and they shook hands vigorously, coming to a mutual understanding of the situation.

"Ganbatte, Kudou. I hope that you can find this kid before they do."

Shinichi nodded in determination as he turned to leave. If all went according to plan, he would find the boy and his mother within the week and possibly learn the dark secret that Kuroba Touichi took to his grave.

---

It was confounding. Throughout his life, Kudou Shinichi had never witnessed a feat as incredible or as eccentric as this. A kaleidoscope of colors adorned the heads of the student body of Ekoda Junior High. There were pinks and purples, reds and blues, oranges and yellows and greens in every shade and style imaginable; polka-dots, stripes, plaid, and even argyle (Shinichi wasn't quite sure how a few of those had been pulled off). Whoever had done it had to be magical; a witch, even. Shinichi mused on, admiring the styles as he walked through the hallways in curiosity, tugging uncomfortably on the neck of his new gakuren.

"So you think that this was the work of a witch, do you?" The voice that spoke was soft, but cold, like a frozen blanket of snow. He tilted his head to view the source of the invading sound.

"A witch? I don't recall saying anything about witches, ojou-san." He caught sight of the girl who spoke, his mind running circles trying to file away her description. She was tall, thin, and…sultry? Possibly. Judging from the way she spoke - not to mention all the boys who were staring at her - he judged her to be capable of the description. With her crimson hair, matching eyes, and just a bit too short skirt, it wouldn't be difficult.

"No need to say it. This witch has dear Lucifer tell her the thoughts of those who are near." Her words ended smoothly, almost like the hiss of rubbed satin. Shinichi did not enjoy the vibes he was getting from this girl…well, most of them; he was a teenage boy after all.

"A witch? Baka baka shi…" he claimed, feigning disinterest and turning away. Suddenly the hallway didn't feel as warm as before and he concluded that the girl did not like the way he was ignoring her. He watched as a small number of students looked in his direction, horrified, before scurrying away as fast as they legs could carry them. It was not his Sherlockian prowess that led him to believe that he was treading in dangerous territory.

"Koizumi-san. Please don't use any spells on him."

Another voice? Shinichi turned and smiled at his newfound savior.

"Ohayo, Aoko-chan." She was speaking sweetly with a poisonous smile. Shinichi didn't miss the difference of familiarity in their voices.

The new girl seemed unaffected by her as she reached them, smiling brightly to him. She addressed the strange, taller version of the two. "Aren't you supposed to be with Watanabe-sensei in homeroom right now, Koizumi-san?" Koizumi's smile became even more predatory.

"But I have yet to introduce myself to the newcomer…"

"Gomen, Koizumi-san, but as a class representative I have to make sure that everyone gets to class on time. _And _I need to talk to Kudou-san about _his _new classes." She left no room for argument and continued smiling.

A sour look fell across Koizumi's face as she turned and all but stormed down the hallway. Shinichi watched as three terrified, periwinkle-headed students nearly tripped over each other as they attempted to flee her chosen path. He glanced to the new girl, Aoko; her smile hadn't left. Her wondered about their differences in address. The tall girl was very familiar, using "-chan", while this new girl was polite and distanced, using "-san" for both of them. Perhaps Aoko was just a very polite young girl or Koizumi was just being purposefully imposing. _Invite you in for tea and proceed to steal your soul_. He mentally laughed at the image before turning to the girl and offering a small bow in greeting.

"Arigatou, ojou-san." He was scarcely surprised when she held out her hand for him to shake.

"Don't worry about it. My name is Nakamori Aoko. And you're obviously Kudou Shinichi." They shook hands and only then did he really notice her features: shoulder-length, brown hair with eyes like the sky and a cute, childish roundness to her face. She was a little bit shorter than him and smiled like she hadn't a care in the world; the poster child for fourteen-year-old girls.

Though her grip told another story entirely. He resisted the urge to rub the blood flow back into his fingers when they released.

"Hajimemashite, Nakamori-san. I assume that you've been assigned to assist me because you're the representative for Class 3-B?"

"Hai, Kudou-kun." She changed the suffix, pausing to make sure that it had not upset him. It hadn't. Ultimately she did look a little like Ran…and she wore a sailor uniform well to boot. "Our classroom is in the eastern hallway." She gestured in the direction that Koizumi had traveled and his lips thinned. His discomfort must have been visible because she added, "Don't worry. She's in Class 3-A."

Shinichi quirked his lips into a small smile in relief. "I see. Who is she anyway?"

"Her name's Koizumi Akako. She came here from another district two years ago so I don't know much about her from back then, but she's really popular with the guys and therefore not as much with the girls. She keeps to herself mostly. A little creepy, vain, and temperamental, but I don't think she's really all that bad," she explained, but judging from the actions of the students that Koizumi passed, he felt that Aoko might be alone in her sentiment.

"Hmm, probably good to know then," he chuckled. The tenseness in the girl's shoulders seemed to lessen when she felt that he was opening up to her. "To class then?"

"Sure," she answered as they began down the hallway, the bell ringing to begin the day. "Homeroom is with Miyazaki-sensei. She's really nice and she's also the physical education teacher so we see her again by fourth."

"Not the typical physical education teacher then. The one who taught at Beika was a burly, old man with a thick, Kansai drawl. Very loud." They laughed together, unhindered in the empty hallways.

"Sounds terrible," she giggled. "So that's where you're from, huh, Kudou-kun? Beika?"

"Yes," he affirmed with a nod.

"No wonder you're talking funny." She laughed when eyebrows knit in confusion. "You sound all proper with your 'ojou-san's and your big words."

"I see," he snickered. "Well, _ojou-san_, you should know that my speech really has nothing to do with Beika and everything to do with my mother."

"Ooh, your mom is the 'etiquette' type, huh? Heehee…"

"Lessons in manners. Twice a week. Four years. Private tutor," he informed her.

"Wow, sounds expensive."

"It was. Okaa-san was an actress at the time, though," he bragged, not entirely unfamiliar with praise.

Aoko's eyes lit up. "An actress?" she asked, stunned. "Wow…so what does your dad do in comparison?"

"A novelist. She's retired though…they live in San Francisco now. Just moved out there a few months ago so that he could do research for his new book."

"You have an amazing family, Kudou-kun…but they moved to America and you moved to Ekoda? That doesn't make sense."

"I'll only be here for a little while. I'm just…looking for something."

"What are you looking for?"

"I'll know it when I find it," he concluded. "Here's a better question: why is it that you and Koizumi-san are the only two people I've seen in this entire school with natural hair."

She blinked a few times as she looked up at her bangs, her mind to catch up before it dawned on her. "Oh, that. You must think the whole school is insane or something. No, Kaito decided to put hair-dye in the locker room shampoo. You see, I was in the office for all of fourth period that day and since Koizumi-san never participates in that class, there really isn't any need for her to shower then. But the thing was that the dye didn't react until the sun went down, don't ask me how, but when everyone woke up this morning POOF! Neon-colored hair." She finished with a resigned laugh before smiling at him. "But you don't have to worry about him either/ He's in Class 3-A too. Besides, he wouldn't dare do anything again for the next few days after the beating I gave him with a mop."

Shinichi nodded, not bothering to ask about it.

Aoko finally stopped in front of the door marked 3-B. "I'll tell Miyazaki-sensei, so just wait here." She slid open the door and he watched as she glided over to the woman behind the lectern. She had bright green hair (obviously the teachers hadn't been spared) pulled back into a high ponytail and she wore a bright pink jogging suit. He figured that she was the type to just make the most out of it. When they were done whispering, Aoko winked at him before disappearing into the class and Miyazaki-sensei began her welcoming speech.

"Alright class! Quiet down! I'd like to introduce you to a new student today. He's just transferred over from Beika district," she explained, finally nodding to him. He took that as the signal to enter. It wasn't all that different from the awkward stares that he received in the hallways. Only now there were dried paint splatters on the wall as well as glitter covering the desks. "Please introduce yourself."

"My name is Kudou Shinichi. I'm fourteen, from Beika, and I play football." Murmurs quickly filled the room as he finished reciting the already memorized speech.

"Alright, alright! Does anyone have any questions for Kudou-kun?" A few hands raised. "Yes, Kurashi-san."

A girl with short, pink hair stood up shyly. "Why did you transfer so late into the semester?" she asked quietly, almost inaudibly. He hadn't really thought about it but it was an odd time to transfer schools he supposed.

"Family," he stated simply. He didn't need to unnecessarily involve them. The girl sat down with a small 'oh'. More hands raised and a boy with fire-engine red hair named 'Rukari-kun' was called on.

"How good are you at football? What was your rank in Beika?" he asked proudly.

"I was captain and ranked first on the team.," he answered. Oohs and ahhs pervaded his ears as more hands raised.

"One more," Miyazaki-sensei said as she glanced at the clock behind her. "We've only got another minute of homeroom. Momoi-san?" Another girl stood up. This one had bright blue pigtails held up in orange bows and she smiled at him. Well, smirked seemed to be the more appropriate word choice."

"Are you single?" she asked. Shinichi blinked and the room erupted into chatter. Miyazaki-sensei scolded her and Aoko, who must have known her personally, nudged her with and elbow just before the bells sounded to end homeroom. He sighed, deciding that this was as good a time as any to sit down. There was only one empty seat, which he deduced was supposed to be his; directly to the left of Aoko. As he sat down, she smiled and he could faintly see the soft tint of a blush on her cheeks. He smiled back politely, hoping he was just reading too far into it.

Around them, the class continued to gossip as they waited for their next teacher to arrive.

* * *

_Well, that's all for now! **Next Time:**** We take a look at the world outside. What sort of malevolent plot is unfolding in the bigger picture?**_

_Thank You For The Reviews!:_

**mangaluva-** _Then I give you a giant fluffy polar bear. :D_

**SetoJouFan- **_Yes, when he's on a case, I doubt that a marauding band of nude hula-hoopers could distract him.  
_  
**reighost- **_Why thank you. :)  
_  
**topaz-tantei- **_Don't worry. There is more Yukiko along the way. XD_

_I love you guys!_

-DiGi


	4. Outside and Inside

_Well, here's Chapter 4. Start expecting these chapters about once every week or so (depending).

* * *

_

It was a bright afternoon. Faintly, he could hear the laughter of children playing at recess and watched absently as a few businessmen hurried past, rushing to their offices at the end of their lunch breaks. He scowled.

Gin _hated _bright, cheery afternoons. Not due of any particular aspect of them but Gin being able to see days like this meant one of two things: there was no one to kill at that particular time or that he was waiting. He particularly hated the latter of the two; which he happened to be experiencing at that moment.

"**Yes**," Vodka said through the phone, glancing anxiously at his obviously impatient and irritated co-worker. "**Yes, that's right. She'll be finishing here in Japan**." His broken English grated at Gin's ears. As he finished and snapped the phone shut, Vodka pulled the scrambling device from the back and tossed the phone through the window of Gin's beloved 1958 Porsche 356A Coupe. "Done, Aniki."

Gin didn't comment, only sneering as he veered out into traffic after making sure the phone was no longer with the automobile. Horns blared angrily but fell on deaf ears as Gin drove on.

"So, when did Anokata say to order the tickets for, Aniki?"

Without paying him much mind, Gin grabbed a manila folder from the backseat, swerving slightly, before dropping it on the other man's lap. He wasn't in much of a mood for explanation. Vodka began flipping through the file, looking over the information.

It was silent for a long while as Gin drove and Vodka read. He swerved off toward an exit, turning toward the flight hangars where the others waited. Gin was very appreciative of the silence and the fact that Vodka had finally reached the point where he knew better than to unnecessarily agitate him with chatter. Now if only he could realize a few more things about his pet peeves; then they would get along just fine.

He sped down the abandoned runway, not bothering to abide by any rules. Whipping it around to stop next to the hangar he parked and got out. Vodka was sweating a little but did not comment. They strode into the closed building, punching numbers into the keypad next to the door and rushing in.

The warehouse was filled with cars and motorbikes as well as containers and containers of artillery. In a small area, littered with small electronics and a few gun parts, sat Chianti and Korn. Neither looked up as the men approached.

Chianti absently wiped the grime from a Dragunov SVDK. Korn was disassembling a Barrett M99.

"Have you completed the assignment?" Gin asked monotonously, coming to a stop a few feet from one of the tables.

"Mocchiron~" Chianti sang, glancing at him. Korn ignored them. "Murakami Rima is no more."

If Gin had to give credit to Chianti for anything, it would have to be her name choice. Chianti: adaptable as they come. A wine to partner with any food. Chianti's vice: her abhorrent volume.

"Good." He flopped another file onto the table between them. She flipped it open, Korn leaning over to look.

"WHAT!?" Chianti screeched, dropping the gun on the table and standing. She scowled harshly at Gin, fuming. "What the hell is this! What does it mean, 'RIESLING : TERMINATED'! What happened to him! What happened to Riesling!"

Gin ignored her shouts, instead turning to Korn. "Korn. Anokata has an assignment for you, personally. Send a message via protocol 8."

"GIN!" Chianti roared, slamming her hands on the table, sending papers flying. She was frantic.

"Oi!" Vodka yelped, taking a step away from the irate woman. Gin didn't even flinch. Korn seemed unfazed, standing to retrieve his cell phone and walk away, ignoring the situation.

"Vodka," he stated simply as he turned and walked away. "I'll be in the car."

"Y-youkai…" he answered, sweating a little at being left alone with her. He waited until Gin had slammed the door behind him before turning back. He gulped. Chianti was seething. "Riesling was on an assignment with Vermouth. It seems that they were infiltrating the Yakuza and Riesling flipped on us. Vermouth took care of him."

Chianti collapsed into her chair, head resting in her arms on the table. Vodka hurried away, hoping that she wouldn't decide to grab her rifle and shoot him in the ass as he left.

She sat there for a long while, listening to the dying hum of an engine and the one-word responses of Korn. Tears formed in her eyes; she definitely didn't need to let Korn or anyone else see that she was distraught. Emotions lead to irrationality. The Organization couldn't deal with agents who could betray them. Crying would be a clear sign telling them to execute her. So she held the sobs in, clenching her eyes shut and trying to push it out of her mind.

No one had known and no one would know.

Slowly, she stood and began to walk away. She slung a bag of sorts around her neck as she passed, calling back to Korn as he hung up. "Be back in a sec!"

She shut the door behind her, flipping on her helmet and straddling her bike. She kicked it in gear, released the clutch, and sped off down the runway.

Faster and faster.

50 km/h.

60

70

80

90

As she reached the end, she let out a howl of frustration and misery, skidding to a turn and zooming through a hole in the fence and continuing through the field to a harbor. Calming herself, Chianti came to a stop, putting down the leg and turning it off. She tossed the helmet to the grass, looking down the slope to the river. Her eyes were bloodshot.

Sighing mournfully, she dropped to set the bag on the ground and opened it, pulling out a handful of something. A silver chain slid through her fingers. She gazed at it longingly before clutching her hand tight enough around it to leave an imprint. She drew her arm back as she stood, slinging the object toward the water's surface. She watching as it skidded once before disappearing into the abyss of the water.

The rings of motion that were caused by the object breaking the surface were long gone before Chianti decided to leave. The water continued to drift by gently.

As she hopped on her back, pulling on the cap, she took one last look at the river before speeding away.

"Sayonara…Ryousuke…"

* * *

"**We will miss that brilliant mind of yours greatly, Miss. Kurosawa**," the woman spoke. She wasn't smiling. She wouldn't miss _her_, just the money and recognition that she had brought with her.

Shiho nodded, not wishing to give the covetous hag any more of her time than was necessary.

They stood outside the large oak doors of her dormitory, her sister standing next her and speaking to the Headmistress of the institution.

"**And I'm sure that Sherry will miss it here too**," Akemi laughed. She held onto her younger sister's hand, pulling her away so they could get into the car. The repressive woman went inside and the two shut the doors to the car in silence. Akemi started the engine and they sat there for a moment.

Shiho broke out in a smile, lunging at her giggling sibling and squeezing her.

"Haha! " Akemi squealed.

"Arigatou! I thought that I would never get out of that place!"

They sat there hugging and enjoying each other's company for a long time.

"Aperol. Get a move on."

Shiho froze, spinning around to see who was speaking. It was too dark in the backseat to see the man's face.

"It's alright, Sherry. That's Rye, a member of the Organization." Akemi explained. Shiho's eyes narrowed at the long-haired figure with distrust. "Oh come on, Sherry. It's fine."

Shiho spun around in her seat, folding her arms and glaring out the window. Akemi looked at her sadly before driving off.

In the backseat, "Rye" hummed.

Smiling, Akemi sang a snippet of the song softly. "~Karasu naze nakuno…"

* * *

"~_Karasu naze nakuno? Karasu wa yama ni kawaii nanatsu no ko ga aru kara yo," the woman sang. Shinichi stared up at her, reaching for her mouth. The blonde woman smiled, the rest of her face in the shadows cast from the light that was directly above her. "~Kawaii, kawaii to karasu wa nakuno. Kawaii, kawwaii to nakundayo."_

_Shinichi babbled, giggling gleefully at the pretty sound. From somewhere to his right, through the wooden bars he heard two very familiar voices speaking softly. He ignored them to focus on the person above him._

"_~Yama no hurusu ni itte mite goran. Marui me o shita iiko da yo." And just like that, the song ended and Shinichi clapped his small hands. The woman reached down to him so that he could hold her fingers._

"_Would you like to hold him?" the familiar woman asked. The one who always fed him and entertained him. The woman turned to her, smiling._

"_I would love to." Carefully, her arms were drawn towards him and he felt them beneath his head and tailbone, lifting him from the small, wooden cage. He clutched onto her chest as she held him close. She chuckled and he could feel it rumble inside her. Her heartbeat thumped gently beneath one of his hands. "They're men, even at this age."_

_The other two laughed with her._

_He felt his body bounce a little with every step the woman took as they moved to the sitting room a few doors away. As the woman sat down, she adjusted his spot on her, leaning back so that he was putting more weight on his stomach and less on his spine._

_The three began a bout of small talk, Shinichi ignoring it for the most part and concentrating on his new pillow and the gentle thumps of a heartbeat. Before he even knew it, Shinichi was dead asleep._

* * *

"Are you sure you're okay?" Aoko asked worriedly as she and Shinichi walked next to each other to the cafeteria.

He smiled sheepishly, remembering the strange dream. It was most likely part of a memory long forgotten. "Positive. It's only a bump." She gave him a suspicious sidelong glance.

Shinichi had fallen asleep in the middle of fifth period, but the worst part of it was that he had proceeded to fall out of his seat when the bell rang. The entire class had burst out laughing and the teacher, Nakamura-sensei had merely shaken his head as he left.

Aoko sighed. "On your first day, too. What's going on?"

He shook his head, brushing it off. "It's nothing, really. Just couldn't get much sleep last night…too anxious." She smiled at that.

"Well, if you're sure you're okay, Kudou-kun…why don't you join me and Keiko for lunch, seeing as how I doubt you made another new friend in the five seconds we've been apart today?"

"Sounds like a deal."

They walked outside, strolling in the direction of a few trees. Under one of them stood the pig-tailed girl from earlier. She was waving to them.

_Keiko. Momoi Keiko._ He mentally shrugged, hoping that she wouldn't pursue her earlier question.

"Ooh! You brought the new kid! Your husband's not going to like that…" Aoko blushed and punched the girl's arm. That line had sounded awfully familiar for some reason…

"Keiko!" she whined. "He's not my husband! Besides, he's not going to be with us for lunch today because he has to sit in with Hana-sensei. He missed her class to pull his stupid prank and she was furious." Keiko rolled her eyes.

"Serves him right, too." She glanced up at her hair and grinned. "Though I kinda like the blue…" It was Aoko's turn to roll her eyes.

"So you _associate_ with the boy responsible for all of that?" Shinichi asked. Aoko nodded a bit, looking confused.

"Yeah, I guess so. I've known him since we were kids."

Shinichi looked thoughtfully, nodding. "Alright then." He sat down next to the tree, not bothering to wait for the girls, though it didn't take long for them to follow suit.

The girls chattered animatedly over their bento as Shinichi looked over the courtyard. There were quite a few students outside; it was late spring so that fact wasn't all too surprising. He mused over his first day at the school, scanning the faces of every student as he pondered the case.

"_I'm sure he would look a lot like you."_

That's what Jii-san had said. A once over provided him with no clues. He frowned. Not one student who even looked remotely like him. It was like the-

PON!

Shinichi, along with the rest of the students, went wide-eyed, staring at the ground-floor window. Blue smoke was billowing out as well as streamers and confetti.

There was a long silence.

"KAITO!" a woman in the distance screeched.

Aoko's forehead hit her palm. Keiko whole-heartedly laughed. Shinichi stared in confusion. Before he even knew what was going on, Aoko was up and rushing for the door nearest to them and a figure had suddenly flown out of the window, cackling madly, and rushed into the dissipating smoke. He could almost feel the wind as Aoko sprinted past him and into the smoke as well, carrying, what looked like, a mop. Keiko cheered her on.

CLACK

"I-TAI!" someone yelped in pain.

CLACK-CRACK-SWAT-FWACK-KRICK

More yelps and then silence.

Aoko appeared from the fog, dragging a misshapen boy behind her. Shinichi winced at the bruises and bumps he saw on the kid's face.

This was obviously the infamous "Kaito".

"Don't worry about him too much," Keiko reassured him. "She's given him worse than that." Shinichi gulped.

Aoko didn't just _resemble_ Mouri Ran after all. They were twins separated at birth.

* * *

_Well, that's all for now. See if you can guess who the woman in Shinichi's memory is. :) It's really not that hard._

_And so Kaito finally shows up...at a distance...for a minute... Oh well, he'll get more time in the next chapter definitely (because I love him so much)._

_-DiGi_


	5. Jealousy in the face of Opposition

_A/N- Just so you know: this plot is BEFORE Hakuba arrives in Japan and after Akako -AU-. ALSO, Shinichi is a little caught up in flirting. He's fourteen, kiddies. Gotta make it hard on him. But THAT is why he's just not making the big connection. That's all on purpose._

_A/N/2- Sorry that I haven't updated in a few weeks. Got caught up in a few things. 4 people I knew died in a span of three weeks, not to mention that exams are coming right after the break is over, and I have a comparison essay on the Aeneid due this Thursday that I haven't written a single word of. It's all a bit touch-and-go at this point, sadly._

_

* * *

QUOTE: _"Jealously is a dog's bark which attracts thieves." -Karl Kraus

* * *

"Well, I have to say, Kaito-kun, you've really outdone yourself this time," Keiko mused as they watched Aoko storm out of the principal's office. She glared menacing at the disfigured boy. He winced in response, his bruises stinging in memory of the beating she had just recently bestowed upon him.

"He said he wants to see you, Kaito," she hissed. He gulped, standing quickly and rushing past her into the room. Her glare followed his every step until the door shut behind him. She sighed. "I swear, he's going to get into a whole lot of trouble one of these days."

"Yeah, well, why did Kudou-kun and I have to come down to the office, too?" she questioned, gesturing to the bored-looking boy in the chair to her left who had not been paying attention to the conversation.

"Huh?" he asked, hearing his name mentioned.

"Because," Aoko began matter-of-factly. "The two of you are witnesses." Keiko rolled her eyes.

"You just don't like how the school deals with him. Ah the good ol' days of expulsion…" she mocked.

"Why wouldn't she?" Shinichi entered. Keiko and Aoko looked at him oddly. He began to explain. "Well, from what I hear, he only got a week of detention for the hair dye and glitter."

Keiko nodded, adding, "The janitors get paid a lot here…"

"That's right! Just a week of detention is dumb!" Aoko replied. "It's nice to know that _someone _in this school likes to uphold the laws of society."

Shinichi smiled at this. "I had no idea that you felt so strongly about this matter, Nakmori-san."

"Oh, you have no idea…" Keiko interrupted. "Her loud mouth could rival her dad's."

"Keiko!" Aoko whined with tinted cheeks. She averted her eyes from him in embarrassment.

"Pfft! Her dad is Nakamori Ginzo-keibu. Head of the formerly infamous Kaitou Kid Task Force," Keiko informed him to Aoko's obvious displeasure.

"I see. The daughter of a police officer. No wonder," he said with a smile. Most of her embarrassment faded as he said this and she smiled meekly in return.

"Oh~ What's this?" Keiko hummed delightedly. "Are Nakamori Aoko and Kudou Shinichi flirting?"

"_Keiko!_"

"The hell they are!"

"Watch your language, bozu!"

The three of them turned to face the door where the bruised boy had just appeared with a scowl on his disfigured face. Aoko was bright red though Shinichi seemed quite indifferent. Keiko was merely amused. The shout from the principal went ignored as the boy stomped over and grabbed Aoko's wrist, glaring as best he could at the other considering his bruised face, and tugged her towards the door.

"Hey! Baka-ito!" she protested, pressing her heels into the linoleum to slow her movement.

"I gotta talk to you for a minute, okay?" he said impatiently, continuing to tug her as far away from Kudou as possible. His anxiety didn't go unnoticed to the detective. The way his shoulders tensed at the very sight of him talking to Aoko simply screamed 'KEEP OFF' The boy was obviously fond of her, but whether or not it was a sibling's affection or something more would need to be discovered later.

Keiko and Shinichi stood there together as the two exited, remaining silent for a moment longer.

"Momoi-san?"

"Hm?"

"Does he _always _get this envious of the guys who get near Nakamori-san?"

"Yup."

"I thought as much."

"You talk weird for a kid."

* * *

"I don't like it, onee-chan."

Akemi smiled nervously. "I know, I know. But even if you don't trust him, trust me. He's n-"

"'_He's not like the others.'_ So you think…" Shiho plopped down on the bench near their gate. The plane would not be leaving for another two hours and the three had already spent two hours in the car just getting there.

"Please, Shiho-chan? I know that they're distasteful, but without Okaa-san and Otou-san we don't have much choice."

Shiho scowled up at her sister who was practically standing in front of her, begging. She glanced around.

"Where did he go, anyway?" Shiho questioned suspiciously.

"Oh, I sent him after some food. It's going to be a long trip back to Japan after all," Akemi answered, trying to change the subject. Shiho's eyes narrowed.

"I see…"

At that moment, Rye, as he seemed to be called, had chosen to reappear with two filled paper bags.

"Oh, arigatou!" Akemi chirped, taking one of the bags from him and setting it down next to her sister. Rye was scowling menacingly at the remaining bag.

"Aperol. I'm here to escort your sister back home. Not be your personal bank teller."

She smiled gratefully. "You are to escort her back _safely_. If she doesn't eat, then she'll get sick. And if she gets sick, that's not very safe now is it…" She spoke with a forked tongue. Rye pursed his lips before shoving the other bag to her and collapsing across the aisle from the two girls. Akemi sat herself next to her sister, busying herself with the distribution of food. She handed Shiho a wrapped burger. Shiho only scowled at it before setting it down on the other side from her sister. "Aren't you going to eat?"

Rye was glaring at her. She glared back.

"Why isn't _Hime-san_ eating the food?" he growled.

"I wouldn't put it past you to poison us."

His lips thinned in a deadly frown.

"I mean, you are one of _them_ after all," Shiho continued.

"As is your aneki."

It was frighteningly silent after that. Shiho refused to even touch the food or look at the man and Rye had responded by pulling his toboggan over his eyes and pretending to snore. Akemi sat in awkward silence between the two, desperately hoping that the flight would be ready earlier than expected.

* * *

"Ne, Yuu-kun~ Do you think he'll be surprised?"

He chuckled. "Well, he might be after that whole argument you had." She pouted.

"Where is he staying anyway? He's obviously not staying at home with that school being as far away as it is."

"He's at a hotel. And if I know anything about Shinichi, I'd say that it would be an expensive one."

"Why's that?" she asked.

"He has _my _credit card…" he dead-panned.

* * *

"Hey, Kaito?" Aoko asked quietly as they walked towards her home. School had just let out and Kaito and Aoko were performing their daily routine.

"Mm."

She glanced at him. "What do you think about Kudou-kun?" Kaito scowled as best as he could beneath the layer of bloodied skin.

"Why?" he growled dangerously. She ignored it.

"Well, he just moved here. Plus, he has a pretty mysterious reason for being here, too."

"Z'at so." He was not _feigning _disinterest.

"Yeah," she answered anyway. "He says he's looking for something, but he'll only know it when he finds it. Like some ominous quest from one of those Chinese dramas."

"Mm."

She pouted, giving up on attempting to get Kaito to talk about his feelings. It had been difficult to get him to open up ever since his father died and even though Aoko had never gotten all of the details, her father had investigated it personally, so she knew that the best of the best had done what they could.

"Hey, Kaito?"

"Mm."

"The third trimester is going to be ending soon, so, if we get our work done at the beginning of break, it shouldn't be a problem. Do you want me to go with you again this year?"

"Where?"

"Are you going to visit him on Shunbun no Hi?" Kaito visibly tensed, which was saying a lot considering that he never showed any signs of discomfort.

And leave it to Aoko to remember everything.

"Yeah…I suppose you can…"

"Alright. Just make sure to get everything done first. And lighten up around Kudou-kun a bit, will you?" He visibly frowned once more.

"I don't like him."

"You've barely met him, Kaito."

"Anyone who hits on you is obviously bad news."

By the time Kaito went to sleep that night, five more bruises had appeared.

* * *

"_**SURPRISE~**_!"

Shinichi paled as the weight of the door pulled it closed behind him.

"Okaa-san? Otou-san?"

Yuusaku smiled while Yukiko leapt at him, nearly knocking him to the ground. She was squealing, and squeezing and kissing him, and Shinichi nearly shoved her away. A moment of thought proved that idea to be extremely moronic. On of two things would happen; she would either burst into tears or guilt trip him with her acting. Either way, he would cave in minutes and end up right back where he was now. He sighed, thinking of the things he put up with.

Oh well. It was his mother after all.

"What are you guys doing here?"

Yukiko was too busy cooing over him so Yuusaku answered in her place. "We just wanted to see if you were doing alright here in Ekoda. We figured, since a friend of your mother's lives nearby we could somehow convince you to stay with them. It would be safer."

"And less expensive, I suppose," he deadpanned. Yuusaku was had.

"Yes, that too."

"Oh, don't worry so much about it, Shin-chan! It was my idea anyway. I'm sure that Minami-chan would love to keep you. She has a son that's about your age as well." He was nearly getting cavities with the sweetness his mother's scene produced.

"That's fine, as long as they _really_ don't mind."

"Of course, Shin-chan! I'll ask her when we stop by tomorrow afternoon. But for tonight…" She stretched and yawned before plopping onto his bed.

"Hey!"

"G'night, Shin-chan…" she muttered with one last, soft smile…damn actress. Shinichi glared, glancing at his father.

"And I suppose you're taking what's left of the bed."

Yuusaku smiled, sidling over to lay next to his wife, tucking her in before getting himself comfortable.

Shinichi sighed as he sat down on the chair a few feet away, draping himself over the arms and closing his eyes.

Sleep wasn't willing to touch him yet though.

His mind raced through questions and possibilities. Where the hell am I supposed to start looking.

But with all the mental strain, it didn't take long for him to drift off to sleep. Not ten minutes after he was deep in sleep, Yuusaku crawled out of the bed and snuck over to his son. He gently picked him up and carried him back to the bed and tucking him in as well before sliding the chair over to an end-table and whipping out his laptop. He had a deadline in five days, so he supposed that he might as well get the first few chapters done.

When Shinichi hit the alarm clock the next morning, he was disturbed but not all too shocked by what he found. For one, he could barely move considering his mother had her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, pressing him firmly into her bosom. He sighed, glancing just over her neck to see his father dead asleep in the chair, head laying flat against his keyboard.

_I should've known…_ he thought.

* * *

_Oh how I love Yukiko. :) And expect much more of sulky!Kaito in the near future...if you haven't guessed already._

_-DiGi_


	6. Oh no NO NO NO NO NO

**(Detective Conan disclaimed)**

_Sooooo...back to the weekly update (kinda). I'm trying guys, I really am. And it's exam week, so I might be late again. I love you guys, but I don't think that I've ever kept something alive for this long (story-wise)._

_Well, remember, any questions? Ask in a review._

_

* * *

_Shinichi stretched and yawned loudly, bones cracking and muscles creaking in protest.

"Are you okay, Kudou-kun?"

He blinked the fatigue from his eyes and focused on the girl sitting next to him beneath the tree. "M'fine…Jus' tired…"

Kaito scoffed, angrily taking a bite of mochi. How the hell he could make it last till lunch was beyond them. Aoko nudged him harshly and he winced as her elbow pressed onto his bruised ribs.

"Aren't you going to finish eating?" she asked with concern.

"No. M'done." She raised her eyebrows at him. "What?"

"Well, if Kaito wasn't sitting right next to me, I swear that he was impersonating you." He blinked in surprise before she explained her reasoning. Kaito glared. "Well, for one, you're posture is slacking. You're normally straight-backed because of those etiquette classes but you're trying to relax it now. Secondly, you're talking like a normal 14-year-old boy."

"Thanks."

"No, I'm serious. You're a very mature person so it's only natural that you talk like one. Today, you're slurring you're words."

He sat up, leaning closer to her and smiling. "You would make a wonderful detective in a few years time." Her face flushed a bright crimson while Kaito was red for entirely different reasons. He dragged her further from him and yelled at the other boy. Aoko hit him and Shinichi smiled in amusement.

Kaito was definitely not feeling the emotions of a big brother. A clenched jaw and fist, a gentle but firm hold on Aoko's waist, and the spark of fire in his eyes; his entire body was in sync with the single idea of "MINE!"

The two continued to argue for another five minutes until Keiko showed up and mentioned something along the lines of a 'love triangle'. With that, Kaito shot up and stormed off. Aoko puffed out her cheeks in frustration.

"Oh, anata…" she growled.

"Calling him 'dear' now are we? You're going to upset your new boyfriend if you keep calling him that."

Shinichi chuckled and Aoko leered at her.

"Anyway, what I was going to say before anokata cut me off was that something's bugging you and I want to know what it is."

Shinichi smiled meekly. "Really, Aoko. I'm not really bothered. My parents showed up last night and I ended up sleeping in a chair for part of the night. The other part consisted of me being slowly suffocated by my mother."

"Suffocated!?" the two girls shouted in surprise.

"Shhh! Not like that. You'd just have to meet my mother to know what I'm talking about."

"So, how did it go?" Keiko asked suddenly.

"How did…what go?" he asked.

"Your parents? What did they want?"

"Oh, they wanted me to live with one of their friends for a while so that I could stop using my dad's credit."

"Well, that's nice of their friend to let you live with them for the next four days," Aoko commented, taking a sip of her Sweety Fanta.

"Yeah, I guess. I don't even know who she is though so it'll be awkward-"

SPLOOSH

Shinichi blinked through the water running down his face.

The girls gasped.

"I'm going to maim you Kaito!" Aoko screeched, leaping over his head and dashing after the boy and leaving Keiko to help mop up the mess. Shinichi frowned.

"Really…" he muttered as he grabbed his bag and went to change in the boy's locker room. Upon returning he found that his food was riddled with spiders and ants (not that he was planning on finishing it anyway) and there was a conspicuous object dangling from a branch above where he had been sittting.

Kaito was going all out.

Aoko came back a few minutes later, out of breath and seething.

Just then, the bell to end second lunch sounded and they were forced to down what they could of their meals before rushing back to class, Aoko in a significantly better mood due to Shinichi. Their next class was Japanese Language, taught by Goudai-sensei.

"Open your books to page 482!" he shouted gruffly as he entered the room. He was greeted with a few snickers. "STOP GIGGLING AND OPEN YOUR BOOKS!!"

Aoko raised her hand meekly.

"Yes, Nakamori-san. What is it?"

She gulped before answering. "Goudai-sensei? Did you by any chance teach Class 3-A during fifth session?"

He looked a bit surprised but irritated. "Yes, Nakamori-san. I did. Is that all?"

"Well, no, sir…I mean…" Shinichi stood up, noticing that the girl was feeling apprehensive under his glare.

"I'm sure that Nakamori-chan is trying to point out the strange ornament on your head and lapel." He stared at the boy before glancing up and down at the said objects and roaring as he stormed out of class.

"THAT BOY!" Only moments later they heard the sounds of an angry Goudai-sensei dragging a panicking Kaito through the halls.

"Come on! It's just a joke! Beaver fur never hurt anyone!"

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR JOKES, BOZU!!"

Aoko sighed. "He just doesn't learn."

Keiko jumped up. "FREE SESSION!" The class cheered, thanking Kaito for once.

---

Shinichi sighed as he began his walk to the hotel. There really was no point in avoiding the inevitable. If he was no more than five minutes late, he was sure that his mother would send half of the Metropolitan police after him. That's just the kind of person that Kudou Yukiko was.

"Kudou-kun! Kudou-kun!"

He perked up and turned toward the voice, watching as Aoko bounced toward. She was out of breath when she reached him, but that didn't seem to impede her ability to speak.

"Hey, Kudou-kun? Can I ask you a favour?" She looked up at him with bright, shining, and hopeful eyes. Who was Kudou Shinichi to say no to such a sight?

"I suppose. What is it?" he responded.

"Can you walk me home?"

His eyes widened a fraction of an inch. "Walk you home? I thought that was Kaito's job? Won't he be upset?"

She grabbed his arm and began marching away. "Nonsense! Besides, he's still talking to the chairman and such so he told me to walk myself home. So it's his loss."

He shook his head with a small smile, but paused when he remembered. "Actually, Nakamori-san. I don't really have time to walk you home today." She blinked in confusion. "I mean, my parents are moving me out of the hotel, and I already told you how my mother is, so…"

"Ohhhh…Alright…I guess…I'll just walk that far with you and then go the rest of the way myself."

"I apologize."

"No, it's not your fault! Come on! Let's go!" She continued dragging him.

They continued in a comfortable silence for about five minutes before Aoko spoke.

"Hey, Kudou-kun?"

"Hmm?"

"Would you mind…I mean, could I, maybe…come over?"

His cheeks pinked slightly. "Come over? You mean, to see where I'm going to live for the rest of the week?" She looked at him hopefully. "I…I suppose that's okay. I don't think my parents would mind it if you came…"

"Great!" she cheered. She was joyful the rest of the way, while Shinichi, on the other hand, was feeling a bit more awkward.

Yukiko squealed in delight when they arrived, chattering nonstop about "Shinichi's new friend", to which Shinichi had to deny most of and apologize to the girl.

"Of course you can come, Aoko-chan! I'm sure that Minami-chan would love to have more company!"

Aoko paused. "M-minami?" Yukiko nodded in delight, but they were all confused when Aoko covered her mouth to fruitlessly hide a snicker.

"What is it, Aoko-chan?"

She waved her hands wildly in defense. "N-no! It's nothing! I suppose we should get a move on then!" The transition of subjects was rough at best, but Yukiko being the person she was, went right along with it. She definitely caught it, but there really was no need to pry.

"Well, then! Come on, boys! Grab the bags!" She and Aoko chirped to each other as they exited. Yuusaku and Shinichi were left staring after them with a total of two bags. Yuusaku slapped him on the back.

"I think you've got it, son!" He followed the pair. Shinichi glared, grabbing the two and continuing on after them.

---

"Yuki-chan!"

"Minami-chan!"

The two women threw themselves into each others' arms, bursting into girl-speak and completely ignoring the others until Yukiko introduced them.

"Minami-chan, this is my husband Yuusaku, you remember him of course," she giggled. "And this is my son, Shin-chan." Shinichi frowned at the name but greeted the woman nonetheless.

"Yoroshiku, Minami-san." The tiny woman inspected him thoroughly, smiling all the while.

"Oh my, how you've grown. You've still got your mother's eyes, I see. And your father's toosh." She gave that part a small pinch. Shinichi squeaked and stared at her. Yuusaku reddened visibly. Minami had continued examining him until she heard a small bout of laughter by the door. Turning to look, she smiled brightly when she saw the girl.

"Aoko-chan! What a pleasant surprise!" She wrapped her arms around the girl warmly. "Are you and Shinichi-kun friends already? My what a small world."

"It's nice to see you again too, Obaa-chan. Is he back from school yet?"

"No, I'm afraid not yet. I swear, if I hear one more word from that schoo-"

Aoko coughed a warning.

"Ohhhh…you haven't told Shinichi-kun yet."

Shinichi looked confused and terrified. "Told me what?"

Minami zipped her lips shut with a smile. "You'll find out soon enough. Now, come along to the kitchen, all of you. I just put on the kettle."

They followed her into the kitchen, the women discussing many things that Shinichi hadn't enough interest in to even care about remembering, but it all stop when they heard the front door open and close.

"Tadaima…" a weak, and therefore out of place, voice called.

Shinichi's eyes widened. "No…" He turned to Aoko with a chagrined face. "That's why you were snickering?"

"In the kitchen, dear! We've got company!" Minami called.

Shinichi put his face in his hands and rubbed, hoping to whatever gods that would listen that he had NOT just heard THAT voice. But when he looked up, his hopes were dashed. There in the doorway stood an equally pale Kaito.

"No…" the boy said, in an almost exact imitation of Shinichi's. "No way! No!"

"Kaito? What's wrong?" Minami asked in befuddlement.

"Why are _you_ here?" he spat at Shinichi.

"If I knew that you would be here, I assure you, I wouldn't."

"Kaito!"

"Shin-chan!"

Their mothers' voices went ignored.

"Ooh, is it 'Shin-chan', then?" Kaito mocked. Shinichi stood up quickly, hands flat on the table and leering across the room.

"Don't try my patience…I've already had to change clothes because of your little water fun…"

"Oh, I'm terrified. Come on then, _Shin-chan_. I would love to see the bite behind all of that bark." Shinichi sneered, ready to dash around the table and whack him across the jaw.

"Kudou Shinichi." It wasn't a loud voice. It wasn't even very commanding; but the menacing aura that surrounded his father as he uttered the words, made all the difference as he sat, patiently sipping his coffee. Shinichi's face lost all of the color it had accumulated with anger and returned to his seat.

Kaito snickered at the defeated boy.

"Kuroba Kaito. Don't make me get out of this seat." Minami said in the same tone. "Sit down." Within seconds, he was sitting across from the boy, quietly staring down at the table.

Aoko sniggered and both boys glared. "Shoulda known you'd have something to do with this, Ahou-ko…"

"Pfft, Otou-san isn't here to keep _me_ from sluggin' ya."

* * *

_I'm in love with Shinichi x Aoko right now. I'm not saying that they will end up together, but there will be fluff. I mean, Kaito loves Aoko and hates Shinichi because he thinks that Shinichi is closing in on his Aoko. Aoko cares very deeply about Kaito but is developing a little crush on Shinichi. Poor Shinichi, who is still in love with Ran (canon? OMGWTFDiGi!?), only likes Aoko as a friend and Kaito just rubs him the wrong way so he feels the need to irritate him further. Geddit?_

_And this isn't beta-ed...My stuff is never beta-ed because no one loves me enough to do so..._ =A= _WHY!? ...I jest, I jest...C'est amusante? Non?_

_-DiGi_


	7. Mama Bear

**(Detective Conan disclaimed)**

_Once again, really sorry about the updates. I do know where I wanna go with this story, but writing filler is Hell for me...plus, exams are finally over, so we're good on that front. I was hoping to have this out yesterday, but it was still a little short so it's not a Sunday release like normal. Oh well. Hopefully class will be canceled tomorrow (due to ice and snow and all that GREAT stuff -speaking of which, I pulled a 180 in my truck yesterday on a patch of ice-) so that I can work on possibly 2 more releases this week...though don't get your hopes up too high. I love you guys, but there's only so much I can do along with classes and work during this time of the year. No more sitting on my roof for inspiration. If I did that, I'd get pneumonia and disappear for a couple of months._

_Anyway, here ya go! (And I apologize for how choppy it is)

* * *

_

_

* * *

_

"Great…" Shinichi muttered as he followed Kaito to his belongings. "It just had to be _him _that Jii-san was looking for…"

"I'm very sorry about this, Minami-chan," Yukiko mumbled in apology. Minami glanced at her with a smile.

"It's fine. Really, Yuki-chan. Those two will warm up to each other eventually." She watched with a frown as Kaito led Shinichi upstairs, dragging his bags across each and every step to Shinichi's protest. Aoko followed with a snicker.

"Are you sure tha-"

"Yuki-chan," Minami said, stopping her. Yukiko smiled meekly. "It's fine. They'll get along if I have to make them get along." Yukiko nodded.

"We thank you again, Minami-san," Yuusaku added as he led his wife out.

"Of course." She sighed as she closed the door, looking up the stairs where she heard another argument beginning to brew between the two boys.

* * *

"Jii? Konousuke Jii? Oh my! I haven't seen him in years!" Minami squealed as Shinichi explained to her his situation in Ekoda. "You say that he asked you to find us?"

"Yes. He came to me last week. Would you like me to contact him for you?"

"Oh yes, of course! But how did you know it was us?"

"I-it's a long story…"

"So why did he ask you when there are plenty of _competent _detectives who could have found us. I mean, we met two days ago and you had no clue who I was," Kaito scoffed nonchalantly.

"I didn't recognize you for the bruising," Shinichi shot back.

The two were smiling…Minami sighed at the tense atmosphere, but Shinichi ended up calling Jii at her request.

"Wh-what!? Two weeks!? Really, Jii-san…No, I won't be here in two weeks. I'm supposed to lea…what?" Shinichi frowned. "Is it absolutely necessary? …no, it's not really a problem." Minami looked at him worriedly. "I…I suppose I can-extend my stay. Would you like to speak with Kuroba-san? …oh…al-alright…" Shinichi looked surprised for a moment before bringing the phone down to stare at it in shock.

"Is something wrong?"

"…well…he can't be here for another two weeks…and he wants me to be here to thank me when he arrives so he told me to stay here…if that's okay with you…"

"No," Kaito said simply.

"Of course you can stay!" Minami stated over him and glared. "Two weeks isn't a problem at all."

* * *

"And now I'm stuck with him for two weeks! Did you hear that, Ahouko? TWO WEEKS!" Kaito whined loudly, plopping himself down onto his bed. Aoko covered her mouth as she giggled, receiving a glare from the room's other occupant.

Minami had gone to the market and took Shinichi with her leaving Aoko and Kaito alone in the house. They were respectable pre-teens after all…and Nakamori-keibu would be sent to jail for life for the things he would do to the boy if he ever decided to pursue his daughter.

"Relax, Kaito. I'm sure it'll be fine. It's only until that guy comes back-" Aoko began.

"TWO WEEKS!" Kaito continued, lower lip protruding in a devilishly adorable pout.

"Oh, quit it!" she snapped. "You're acting like a little kid."

It grew silent after that, the two of them drifting off into their own thoughts.

"Ne…Kaito…" Aoko muttered.

"Hm," he answered noncommittally.

"Does this mean that Kudou-kun is going with us on the 20th?"

Kaito's eyes widened as he shot up, staring at her in terror.

"No! There's no way we're going to bring that twit with us to see my dad!" he growled angrily, wondering how she could even think of something so preposterous. She puffed out her cheeks defensively as he flopped back down.

"Well, are you just going to keep it a secret when we all disappear for a day?"

"He should just go visit his own deceased!"

"I don't have any."

The two glanced up at the doorway to see the detective himself leaning against the doorframe arrogantly. Kaito's eyes narrowed.

"You know, it's rude to eavesdrop, Kampeki-sama," he sneered. (-Mr. Perfect)

"It may not be considered such if no precautions are taken to prevent the listener from doing so. Such as closing the door," Shinichi answered calmly. Kaito rolled his eyes with a 'whatever…'

"We didn't hear you come in," Aoko interjected, hoping to avoid another battle of snide remarks. Shinichi looked in her direction softly, much to Kaito's distaste.

"Just finished putting away the produce. There really isn't any need to inform me of Shunbun no Hi. Your mother already invited me, Kuroba." Kaito sneered at this, cursing him.

"You said that you didn't have any deceased?" Aoko added, once again trying to draw the conversation. "That can't be true."

"Well, I suppose it's not entirely true. My parents are leaving for Paris now though, so it wouldn't do me much good. I never knew my grandparents and I don't have any aunts or uncles. I suppose I'm fortunate in that regard."

"Yes, I suppose you are…"

"What about you Aoko? Kuroba-san said that you and your father were also going."

"Oh great…" Kaito muttered. "Keibu-san's coming too…"

Aoko smiled, ignoring him. "Yeah, my grandparents' ashes are at the same tomb." She was pointedly avoiding the subject of her mother so Kudou decided not to pry.

"I see. How coincidental."

"Alright! Enough chit-chat!" Minami called from the ground floor. "Time for bed! Aoko, you're welcome to stay the night!"

Aoko stood quickly, glancing at her watch. "No!" she called back. "I should probably get back home to Otou-chan!"

"Alright! Hurry along before it gets too dark!"

"Okay!" She turned back to the boys. "Well, I guess I'll see you two tomorrow at school then." With that, she bounded out of the room and down the stairs. They heard the front door open and close a few moments later.

Silence pervaded the room, both boys at a common understanding.

"Stop it," Kaito said simply. Shinichi glanced over at the figure sprawled out on the bed.

"I don't know what yo-"

"Stop getting so close to Aoko," he elaborated.

"I see…" Shinichi glanced the room over before his eyes rest once more on the boy who was staring nonchalantly at the ceiling. "She doesn't belong to you, you know."

Kaito flinched slightly at the simple phrase. The conversation had lost most of its malice by this point and the words had become quite civil in nature.

"I never said she did, you bastard…"

"Though, you're being as territorial as a mother bear," Shinichi pointed out.

A pause. Kaito rolled over to face the opposite wall, not bothering with the blankets. "Shut up…"

The discussion had obviously ended.

Shinichi turned to exit, politely shutting the door in his wake as he trudged down the hallway to the stairs. Upon reaching the bottom he found Minami smiling tenderly from the arch leading into the kitchen.

"I didn't hear shouting so I take it that things have improved?" she asked.

He smiled in return. "Perhaps."

* * *

"Mission accomplished…" Korn stated into the receiver. Chianti sat silently next to him at the table. The only sounds were those made when cleaning the grime from a firearm. "Of course…" he continued. The phone was turned off moments later and promptly crushed under a sniper case. "Anokata says that he is pleased. Two more assignments are coming in this evening. One for you and Calvados."

"Calvados? The rookie? That oughta be interesting…" she said with a sadistic twist of her lips. "And who are you partnering with this time?"

"…Ouzo…" Chianti burst into a fit of laughter.

"Ouzo!? Holy shit, Korn! She's fuckin' nuts!"

"…"

She attempted to dry the tears that had accumulated in the corner of her eyes. "Haha…anyway, I suppose we'll have to wait until tonight to see what's up." She went back to wiping the barrel.

"Chianti."

She paused. "…yeah?"

"Are you alright?" he questioned flatly.

"What do you mean, Korn? Why wouldn't I be?"

"Riesling."

She stood sharply, slamming the piece onto the table and storming to another table close by to grab another cloth before returning. "Why would that upset me?"

"…emotions lead to conflict, Chianti…" he said as he placed the last bit into its case and stood to leave with it.

Her last words fell on deaf ears. "…you think I don't know that?"

* * *

"_**Hush little baby and don't say a word. 'Nee-chan's gonna buy you a mockingbird.~**__"_

_It was that same familiar voice. Shinichi didn't open his eyes. He didn't need to. His onee-chan had come to sing again._

"_**And if that mockingbird don't sing, 'Nee-chan's gonna buy you a diamond ring. And if that diamond ring turns brass, well, 'Nee-chan's gonna buy you a looking glass.~**__"_

_It was odd. Shinichi had never heard these sounds before. The way she normally sang and the way his "Kaa-chan" and "Otou-san" normally spoke was much different. This was smoother in a way…the hard sounds running together without the soft ones._

"_**And if that looking glass gets broke, 'Nee-chan's gonna buy you a billy goat. And if that billy goat falls down,~ well…**__" She paused, squeezing his hands lightly. "__**You're still the sweetest little baby in town.~**__"_

"_You should really think about having kids of your own. I'm getting kind of jealous."_

_That pretty laughter. Shinichi curled into himself even more in bliss._

"_Gomen ne, Yuki-chan. He's just so adorable, I can't help myself."_

* * *

As he sat up from bed that morning, Shinichi pondered on his dream. It was another memory, he presumed, considering that it was the same situation as the one preceding it. Though he had yet to recall the woman's name. It was something he would need to ask his mother the next time they spoke.

He blushed a little at the thought of her. He couldn't see her face, but he could tell that she was beautiful. Her blonde curls draped delicately across her shoulders and if her voice was anything to go by.

Shaking off those thoughts, he stood up and retrieved a few of his things and began a long morning of arguing with Kaito over bathroom time and similar subjects while trying to forget about the pretty woman in his dreams.

* * *

_Hope you liked it! Please review! I love hearing from you!_

_THANK YOU TO ALL OF MY REVIEWERS!_

_And I promise that a new plot is about to unfold!  
_

_-DiGi_


	8. Sympathy and Cyanide

**(Detective Conan disclaimed)**

_Since everyone wanted to know about Ouzo, I thought I would start with that. -grin- This chapter is lacking in Kaito and Shinichi plot but excelling in THE BIG PICTURE plot._

_And remember: **BOLD** is English. (or another language not Japanese, but if it's not English it will most likely be written in that language anyway, so yeah...)  
_

* * *

Korn sneered. Ever since he had met with the girl he hadn't had a moments peace. For being a veteran agent, she was awkwardly mediocre in the way she acted on an assignment. She held out her hand and spread her fingers to better look at the nails.

"What do you think, Korn? Does the Metallic Clover really match the green in my scarf?" He continued to ignore her, but just as she had for the past hour, she continued chatting regardless. She didn't even have a gun, so he had no idea how she was supposed to help him. "Hmm…I guess it'll be fine until we get back to the warehouse.

"Speaking of which," she began in a louder volume. "I wish Anokata would get someone to clean up that place. The damp air and mildew does absolutely _nothing_ for my hair." She tangled one of her auburn curls around her finger in disgust. "It gets _unbearable _frizzy and I feel like I have to wash it every ten minutes. That's what I hate about this job the most, you know. The grime."

Her words fell on deaf ears as Korn continued to observe the patio through his scope.

"It's a dirty job, but someone's gotta keep the population down. Reminds me of the old days back in Wales…" She sighed nostalgically, green eyes twinkling. "Have you ever be-"

"He's here," Korn cut her off.

"Ooh! Really? Well, it's about time!" She quickly threw open the door to the van and hopped out, ignoring his protests. Kicking of her boots and pulling off her scarf, she quickly unzipped her pale blue coveralls and stepped out of them to reveal a dark forest green, knee-length, cocktail dress.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he hissed. She winked and smiled at him as she threw the coveralls back into the van and slipped on a pair of stilettos. Grabbing a high-end, designer jacket, she slipped the black suede sleeves over her arms.

"Haven't you ever heard the phrase, '**looks can kill**'?" With that, she slid the door shut with a click and sauntered toward the front door of the house, disappearing into the mass of party-goers.

Korn clicked his tongue disapprovingly, but continued on with the task. Following the wealthy businessman with his scope, he tightened his grip on the trigger, waiting for a perfect, clear opening for a clean shot to the skull. It was rather difficult with consideration to the crowd and the decorations scattered across the room. The dark-haired man was staring at two women across the way, smiling suggestively for a moment before continuing on with the party.

"_I'm in…"_ he heard through the com in his ear.

"Hn…" he muttered in reply, not bothering with the woman. If she was going to just crash the party, he would complete the mission himself. A little more to the left and…

"Damn it, Ouzo…" he cursed as a mop of curly red hair blocked his shot. She gently strutted past the target, bumping into his side. He stared as she continued on her way before turning back to another guest, rubbing idly at his hip.

"_It's done."_

"What's done?" he asked, waiting for another chance to pull the trigger.

"_I'm headed out."_

He didn't reply. Minutes passed and Korn had yet to come across another opportunity. The van door clicked and slid open. He spared he a glance before continuing.

"Oh, put the gun away. I told you it was done, didn't I?"

"I don't see a dead man."

She smiled. "You will."

And so, hours passed, Korn growing more agitated with the situation. The man was very good at hiding behind things. He was escorting the last of the guests out as the cleaning crew started on the patio. He directed them some, but mainly finished up the appetizers and wine. As the crew left, he looked around for a moment in his drunken haze before freezing.

"What the-" Korn stared, astonished as the man clawed at his throat, grasping at a tablecloth and gagging. Fluid was dripping from his lips and his face was turning crimson from the lack of air. He collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony by himself. His movements slowed rapidly before finally coming to a complete halt as he lay there, eyes wide and face paling.

Korn turned to stare at the girl who sat filing her nails in the corner, coveralls, boots, and scarf having returned to their original state. Without even looking up at him, she asked calmly, "He dead yet?"

"…cyanide?"

She nodded, giving her nails a once over before continuing.

He was astonished. How had distributed the poison to him and him alone? Cyanide had an instantaneous effect. If she had put it in the refreshments, there was no way of knowing that he was the one who would be affected. But if she had given it to him directly, it would have happened hours ago.

"You're wondering, I suppose," she continued. He didn't respond but she looked up and answered his questions anyway. "It's a secret."

* * *

"…I'm sorry…"

Chianti looked up from her rifle to stare at the man next to her. "What?"

"I'm sorry…about Riesling…"

She huffed, returning to the assembly of her gun. "You shouldn't talk about the things that have nothing to do with you."

Calvados stared at her for a long moment with lazy eyes before flipping open his own shotgun case, flipping his black ponytail off his shoulder.

Silence pervaded for a long time after that before they got the call that their objective had just entered the meeting place. Calvados hid a few pieces in his clothing before stepping out of the GT and entering the warehouse. Chianti herself entered through the back before climbing up to position herself in the rafters. The American dealer would most likely have his men check the top floor for associates before continuing on with the deal.

It didn't take long before the lights in the windows signaled that numerous vehicles had arrived just outside. The sound of doors opening and shutting could be heard before the men appeared in the doorway. The man in the middle had the cleanest, most expensive shoes, and seemed to be the one to do the talking.

"**So where is it?**" he asked.

Calvados slowly pulled a small back film canister from his jacket pocket before returning it to the same position.

"**And the money?**" Calvados asked in return. Two men stepped forward, opening the briefcases to show the leaflets inside. "**Is it real?**"

The dealer stepped forward to slip a one-hundred dollar bill from it's spot. "**I thought you'd ask that,**" he said, flipping open a lighter and setting it to the bill. Calvados watched closely as the fibers turned red.

"**Alright. Set them on the table over there,'** he nodded his head toward a table to his right. The men did as instructed.

"**Now gimme what **_**I **_**want…**" Calvados smiled, reaching for the film again, tossing it towards him.

The canister clattered to the ground, the dealer grunting and collapsing as blood poured onto the floor beneath him. The men panicked, pulling out their guns and looking around for the source. Many more were taken out with a small caliber gun before everything stopped. Calvados had ducked behind the table, pulling the money with him, but gasped as a rope was thrown up towards the ceiling and tugged back down.

Chianti lost her grip as she was tugged down by her ankle. She grabbed the railing of the second floor on the way down, slowing her fall. But that didn't stop the pain as she met with concrete, feeling numerous bones cracking. She struggled to sit, glaring at the woman who had appeared out of nowhere.

"**Y'all should know better than to mess with Texas by now,**" she chuckled, wrapping the rope around her wrist and flipping her blonde hair behind her. They had shot the wrong person. She wagged her finger at a nearby henchman who quickly bounded over to her with a Smith & Wesson .460 XVR magnum revolver. The gun was huge in comparison to her tiny hand, but Chianti supposed that the men were scared of this girl for good reason. And that didn't include her blue jeans and brown boots.

Calvados was led from his hiding spot at gunpoint while the money and the film was confiscated. Once the film was safe in her left hand, she smiled down the barrel as it was pointed directly between Chianti's eyes. She couldn't help but notice the butterfly engraving on the side of the barrel - custom made.

"**You like it?**" the woman asked, tilting it so as to give her a better view.

"**Sure…**" she answered smugly. The dealer frowned, aiming at the ceiling and pulling the trigger before bringing it back down in front of her. Chianti quickly closed her eyes and was glad she did so. The heated gun was pressed harshly against her left eyelid and she felt two men grab her and hold her down as she screamed in agony. The burning hot sensation imprinted itself into her skin and her eyes saw nothing but bright yellow and white. It seemed like an eternity before the scalding metal was removed and Chianti was gasping in pain as her skin continued to blister. She refused to cry.

Calvados looked as calm as ever, mentally establishing a plan before whipping out two guns and shooting his assailants in the ears. He turned his gun on the others before the Texan even had time to turn around. She pointed her revolver at him, sneering, and he returned the gesture.

They fired. It continued on for many minutes as the dodged and ducked through the maze of crates and machinery, but before he even knew it, the girl was gone with the film. The deal had been completed. Calvados sighed as he returned to Chianti. The woman had passed out.

* * *

Akemi frowned as Dai got up for the sixth time to answer his cell phone. Shiho was asleep to her left and across the aisle was his empty seat. She leaned out to glance up at the break in seating where the man was animatedly speaking with the individual on the other end of the conversation. She quickly unclasped the belt around her waist and quietly made her way to his position.

He glanced at her before quickly saying goodbye. "What are you doing up here, Aperol?"

"Oh, quit calling me that. What's happened? Is my sister in danger?" she questioned. He paused before answering.

"No, she's not in any danger right now, Akemi. The Organization is just having some problems with an old colleague of mine in America. They want me to switch out with Vermouth once we arrive in Nagasaki," he sighed.

"Vermouth? But isn't she a bit too high in the Organization to be on guard duty?" she asked worriedly.

"I know. That's why I'm concerned. Vermouth is a great member but she's Anokata's favorite, so that just shows how important your sister is to the operation we're undertaking."

"…Apoptosis…" She looked at the ground with tears in her eyes. "Oh, Dai…"

He sighed in exasperation. "It'll be fine, Akemi. I promise. Once she finishes their work…" She smiled sadly.

"I know. Okaa-san and Otou-san refused to give them the solution for a reason though…they burned the finished product…that's why they're dead…"

"Akemi, I don't know what the Organization wants out of this program, but I know that your sister will finish it. And then we'll get out. You and me and Shiho will get out. I promise." She nodded as he pulled her into a hug.

"I know, Dai. I don't know how we're going to get out, but I trust you. I know you'll find a way."

Shiho frowned as she quickly made her way back to her seat. This program she was becoming involved with was the reason her parents had died? What was this exactly? And why do they want it so badly?

She clicked the belt shut once more and tilted her head towards the window, feigning sleep as her sister and Rye returned. Akemi wiped her eyes as she picked up a magazine and continued reading some article on a pop-star.

There were a lot of questions Shiho wanted to ask, but now was definitely not the time to do so.

* * *

Many days had passed since Shinichi had come to live with the Kurobas. Of course, relations between the two boys had yet to become civil once again, and Shinichi had even joined in the pranks. Kaito was definitely not happy to find his tricks swapped around when he had attempted to shoot confetti from his sleeves. He had another two days of detention for dousing the entire class and Goudai-sensei with guacamole. He could almost hear the detective's smirk a room away.

It was the last day of class now, however, so turning in all his homework was just as fun as dealing with the outsider. Aoko said he was just jealous that the school had turned its attention to the new kid rather than giving him the time of day. Of course, he thought, she had _obviously _been mistaken. Kurobas did not get jealous.

As he left the building that day, after serving every last second of his detention with Goudai-sensei, Kaito was surprised to find Aoko waiting for him at the gates. He was also surprised, and possibly a bit perturbed, to find Shinichi there as well.

"What are you doing here, Aoko?" he asked, ignoring the other.

"Hello to you, too," Shinichi grumbled.

"_We _were waiting to walk home with you. I wanted to ask you if you wanted me to come over and help you finish up the homework. We only have a few weeks until school starts again. Plus, with Shunbun no Hi in two days, I thought that it would be best to finish it before then."

He stared. "…you're _asking _me? Since when do you ask to come over?" She pouted and swatted his arm. Shinichi rolled his eyes, wondering why Kaito insisted on teasing the girl mercilessly if he cared about her so much.

* * *

_So, I said I hoped to have another two chapters out this week to make up for my mini-hiatus, so here's one of them. Let's see if I pull off number two. -wink-_

_"Thank you"s to **mangaluva**, **mel72000**, and **nequam-tenshi** for the reviews. THANKS FOR STICKING WITH ME!  
_

_-DiGi  
_


	9. Torn in Two

**(Detective Conan disclaimed)**

_Late again. Sorry guys. Last week was Hell Week for our performance of _The Wizard of Oz_. Four nights of pure agony…and thick make-up. Like, THICK, greasy make-up to make me look like a monkey during a 4 minute costume change (it's called Hell for a reason). Plus, first day of a new business class the morning of the third performance._

_In conclusion: I apologize._

_EDIT: That was 7 weeks ago…_

_Also, I have never been to a Shunbun no Hi nor do possess any knowledge of the actual event besides a few little activities. Please…bear with me._

_Also, college is a pain and I'm sick of all of these projects._

_Oh, and I'm screwing with the timeline because I can…_

_**Listening to:** "Torn in Two" -After We Fall  
_

_

* * *

_

The day had finally arrived and Kaito was more than a bit anxious. He felt the nerves diminishing with each passing year, but they had come back full force for that day and he wasn't quite sure why. He shrugged it off as just still being angry with Kudou Shinichi. It definitely had something to do with his arrival…

He knew that his mother would be another thirty minutes at least to get ready, so he fell back on his bed to think for a bit.

They had decided to meet with Jii at the gravesite, which seemed appropriate if all things were considered. He had been Kuroba Touichi's assistant after all.

Kaito sighed.

Meeting him wasn't the problem though. He slightly remembered Jii-chan so that was all clear. The problem was that his mother had invited Shinichi to go with them to visit his father's grave. His father would be rolling the moment that Kudou stepped into the cemetery; he could just _feel _it. What with Kudou's logic and whatnot, destroying all the magic that his tricks held.

And that was _another _thing that frustrated him about Shinichi. His unflappable resolve in the face of illusions and tricks. No matter what he did, Kudou could figure it out and find a way to screw it up if he were ever to do it again.

A thought came to him and he frowned at the realization.

He was seriously going to have to send the boy packing one way or another…

He pulled himself up and straightened out his black slacks and his white dress shirt. Upon reaching his dresser, he grabbed the small sliver of red silk and began tying it around his neck until his dad's old bowtie was perfectly setting on his collar. Once that was in place, he pulled the black vest from the back of his desk chair and slid into that as well. His mother had ironed it the night before, so it looked clean and crisp. He was quite proud that he could now fit into some of his father's old performance apparel.

"You look just like your father…"

He quickly spun around to face his mother standing in the doorway. She was smiling wistfully with glassy eyes and thin lips.

"Okaa-san..?" She pushed away from the doorway and walked over to him, wrapping him in her arms. Kaito followed suit without skipping a beat and stood there holding him sniffling mother. She wasn't full-blown crying but Kaito still found it awkward. She squeezed him one more time before pulling away to look him over.

"Handsome. A little thin, but healthy, thank the gods. Those deep blue eyes. Quick hands." She glanced up at his face. "And that cocky grin." His smile widened as she tapped his nose with each of her following words. "Just. Like. Him."

"Arigatou, okaa-san. Are Aoko and Keibu-san here yet?"

She shook her head slightly. "No, not yet. Aoko called a few minutes ago and said they were on their way. Should be here any minute so I'm going downstairs to finish packing the lunch."

He nodded. "Alright." She started to walk out before turning back to look at him from the doorway. "What is it?"

"Are you alright with Shin-chan coming with us?" she asked solemnly.

His poker face held firm. "Yeah, okaa-san. Why?"

"…I just know how you two are. If you're really opposed to him joining, I'm sure that he wouldn't mind staying behind. I'm sure that he would understand."

Kaito turned away, straightening the bowtie. "It's fine, okaa-san."

She remained there for a moment in silence before turning to leave. "Okay. Just come downstairs when you're ready."

He waited until her footsteps faded away before dropping his hands to his sides. He just stood there for a while, not really thinking about anything, before he heard Aoko and her father arrive and finally decided to move. He more sensed than heard him enter the room and busied himself with a watch.

"What do you want now?" he asked harshly, not bothering to look up. He knew it was Kudou.

"Nothing in particular."

Kaito frowned, glancing at him. "You're awfully dressed up."

"So are you."

"It's _my_ father."

"And I wish to pay my respects."

"How _kind_ of you."

"I may be cynical, but I am respectful."

"'Cynical' is quite the understatement."

"And you're one to talk, Kuroba-kun."

Kaito sneered, his attention fully on the other boy. "If you're looking to start a fight, I'm really not in the mood today, Kudou." Shinichi didn't miss the informality of his name and he paused for a moment, trying to find the right words to say.

"…I don't."

"Well, you're doing a damn terrible job of it."

Shinichi paused again. "Gomen ne." If Kaito didn't have his poker face, he may have unwillingly showed the boy his surprise at the apology. "I don't want to antagonize you today. I was actually planning on being civil."

"Yeah? Well, good luck with that." He turned back to his dresser, wishing that the boy would just leave.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"I thought we were talking."

"Banter isn't what I'm referring to."

Kaito frowned. "And?"

"Who was your father?"

This time, Kaito was completely caught off guard. His eyes widened as he stared at him and he froze. "…What?"

"Your father. Kuroba Touichi. What was he like?"

His damned brain finally decided to catch up and he answered. "Why do you want to know?"

Shinichi remained as stoic as ever. "I'm just curious."

"Well, curiosity doesn't do him justice so I won't."

Shinichi raised an eyebrow. "You think highly of him then."

"You have no idea."

"But I'm beginning to get one."

A long moment passed as the two stared at each other in silence.

"Oh, there you two are. I…" The two boys glanced back at the doorway where Aoko had just entered before stopping short. "Sorry…Am I interrupting something?" she asked hesitantly.

"No, Aoko…" Kaito muttered as he straightened his bowtie one last time before leaving the room. "Come on…" Aoko watched him disappear down the stairs before turning to Shinichi.

"What was that all about?" she questioned quietly.

"I've been pulling him out of his comfort zone and he's panicking. My very presence upsets him. It has since we met, but I'm not _entirely _sure why…"

"He doesn't act like he's panicking…"

"You have to look closely to see it."

"And, anyway. You said 'entirely' like you already know something. Tell me. He's my best friend, Shinichi-kun."

"I've trespassed into his territory."

"…selfish jerk. That's why he acts like that around you? I'll tell him what I think about that…" she muttered, making for the stairs before Shinichi's hand on her shoulder stopped her. He was looking directly into her eyes and her heart fluttered. "…w-what?"

"I don't think that _you _telling him would do any good since he thinks that you're on my side right now."

"Since when are there sides!"

"I'm not against him, but he feels antagonism and responds accordingly. And since you've been taking up for me, he's subconsciously sees that as aiding the enemy."

"…enemy. For goodness sake…"

"Regardless, I would leave the subject alone for today. His stress level is already high enough for today and we wouldn't do well to make him angry today of all days."

She looked at him with worry before sighing in agreement. "Alright…but I need to talk to him about it tomorrow…"

Shinichi nodded. "That's a good idea. But for now, it's time to join them. We need to leave soon." As he stepped passed her, their shoulders brushed and she shivered. He disappeared down the stairs after Kaito, leaving Aoko alone in her thoughts.

_What was that?_ she questioned herself. Why did she suddenly feel so awkward around Shinichi? It was almost as if…but no…those kinds of feelings were reserved for Kaito…weren't they?

She had to admit that she had a crush on Kaito since they were very young, but she had never acted on it. She felt comfortable around him - safe - but there was still a sense of excitement and anxiousness with his personality and tricks. But with Shinichi she felt anxious in a different way. While Kaito made her feel like she was floating, Shinichi made her heart thump harshly against her chest - like she was falling. Hard.

She gulped. Could she really be falling in love with this new kid? The new kid who had the same face as her best friend and long-time crush…

But why did she feel so strongly about him? It wasn't as if he was a total heartthrob, but he was obviously handsome. Plus, he had a head on his shoulders…just like Kaito. She frowned.

"But he doesn't act like Kaito…" she mumbled to herself. It was true. Kaito was loud, obnoxious, and arrogant. Shinichi was quiet, charming, and…well…just as cocky, but he had manners and finesse that Kaito would never act upon even if he knew how. Shinichi was just a bit higher in class than them…

Too good for her? He probably was… She couldn't help but think that, perhaps, she should just ignore it. A guy like that had to have a girlfriend back home. There was no way the girls would leave a guy like him single for long. He was too attractive and brilliant and kind for that to happen…

She felt her eyes beginning to well up with tears and she quickly wiped them away before straightening the black dress she had picked out for their trip. Blinking the dampness from her eyes, she quickly made her way downstairs to the rest of them. Her father, Minami, Kaito, and Shinichi were waiting for her.

"Took you long enough, Ahouko."

She stuck out her tongue at him playfully before catching Shinichi's eye one last time as Kaito turned to speak to his mother. He smiled softly and she felt her cheeks heat up and her pulse quicken again.

She was falling in love.

_Oh no…_

_

* * *

_

"It's nice to see you again, Sherry," the blonde woman said smoothly, sending chills down the girl's spine.

"Vermouth. I leave the girl in your _very _capable hands," Rye sneered subtly. The woman only smirked.

"Was that a _joke_, Rye? I didn't know that you were capable of it…"

Without a response, Rye turned to leave. Akemi watched him go apprehensively before turning back to the woman he had left them with in the middle of the airport terminal.

"Come on, then, Sherry. Aperol."

Shiho's stomach twisted. She didn't trust this woman at all. It was just instinct. And judging by the sweat on her sister's brow, she assumed that she didn't trust her either. But she was now their guardian, sent by Anokata himself, so they didn't really have a choice but to go with her.

Shiho had a gut-wrenching feeling that things were just going to get worse…

* * *

_Once again, sorry for being so RIDICULOUSLY late. I should have the next chapter out very soon in order to make up for my lengthy absence. If not, you have my permission to send motivational messages (coughflamescough)_.

_UPCOMING:_  
_-Shinbun no Hi / Jii_  
_-Korn and Ouzo_  
_-Chianti's recovery / and Calvados_  
_-A MURDER MYSTERY!!!_

_Okay, so, review if you're still here!_

_ALSO! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SHINICHI!  
_

_-DiGi_


	10. Tutoring

**(Detective Conan disclaimed)**

_Alright, I'm hoping to continue rolling these out, but you never know…_

_So, where did we leave off?_

_

* * *

_

It had been an interesting reunion for the Kurobas when Jii had met them, teary-eyed, at the front gates of the tomb, crying and apologizing for leaving them for so long. Thankfully, Kudou, Aoko, and Nakamori-keibu had left them in privacy for awhile. Kaito found the old man to be rather interesting and he hoped that his memory wasn't failing him. He knew that it hurt his mother to talk about his father so he didn't ask. But if Jii-chan, as he had begged them to address him as, was alright with it, Kaito had so much to speak with him about.

It was hard to remember his father sometimes and he hated that it was growing more difficult by the day. If Jii could just tell him a few things then maybe it would make things a little easier for him.

Other than that, it was an uneventful afternoon. They had visited Kuroba Touichi's grave for a long time before the Nakamoris excused themselves to visit their own ancestors. Shinichi mainly just stayed out of everyone's way until Minami got a hold of him and, much to Kaito's exasperation, pulled them into their group. Aoko and her father finally came back, her eyes a little red and puffy, and Minami announced that it was the perfect time to have lunch. They moved away from the graves to a small area of grass where she and Aoko began serving the meal of specially-made sandwiches and rice.

By the time they all finished catching up, it was already late into the afternoon. Minami gasped as she glanced at her watch. "Oh no!"

"What is it, Minami-chan?" the inspector asked.

"It's already 16:00 and I haven't been to the market yet. Mou…"

"That's okay, okaa-san. We'll just grab something at a convenience store on the way home," Kaito added.

"Oh no. We're not having those noodles again, Kaito. Besides, we've already eaten out once this week and my mother would curse me if I allowed us to do it a second time." She got up quickly, brushing the crumbs from her dress and starting to pack up the lunch containers. Kaito began helping her as best as he could and the others followed suit until everything was packed up once again in the bag that Minami was attempting to pick up. Kaito quickly took it from her. "What are you doing, Kaito? I need to hurry up and get to the market before it closes."

"Yeah, and you won't get anywhere if you're lugging this big, heavy thing around. Just take your purse and go. I'll take this stuff home." She smiled and he whined when she kissed him on the forehead before taking off.

"Arigatou, Kai-chan!"

"Hai, hai. Ki ni shi nai de…(1)" he muttered.

"I will accompany you, Minami-chan," Jii added. She smiled and waited for him to catch up.

"That's oddly kind of you, Kaito," Aoko chirped. He frowned at her.

"Yeah, well…it's either that or I don't eat tonight, so…" She giggled and Kaito couldn't help but catch the way Shinichi smiled and he mentally screamed in fury.

"That reminds me…Aoko, I have to get back to the station," Ginzo added as he glanced at his watch as well. "I told them that I would be there around 17:00 to do some paperwork, but if I don't leave now…"

"That's okay, Otou-san. I'll see you when you get home," she said with a smile. He nodded, looking at the boys.

"Kudou-kun." He nodded. "Kaito-bozu." Kaito pouted. "Get her home safely.

"Haaaai…" Kaito muttered as the man turned to leave.

"Alright," Aoko finally said once her father was out of sight. "What now?" The boys just stared at her and she sighed in exasperation. "Okay…How about we go to the shopping district?" Neither of the boys seemed exceptionally pleased with this idea. "I'm sure that they have a book store." Kudou's ears perked up. "AND a magic shop." Kaito's eyes refocused on her. "See? Something for everyone. Let's go."

She led the way to the small market-like street filled with miscellaneous items.

"I don't see no magic shop, Ahou-ko…"

"Nor do I see a book stand of any sort."

"They're here somewhere, I promise. Wait a momen-ahh!" Her butt suddenly collided with the pavement as she was knocked back. The blonde, curly-haired woman who had been rushing through the crowd moments before, stopped upon realizing that she had bumped into someone. She helped Aoko to her feet.

"Oh, I apologize, Miss. I didn't mean to harm you."

"Oh, no! It's alright. I wasn't looking…"

"Y-yamanaka-sensei?"

The woman paused, looking around for the owner of the voice. Her eyes finally settled on an astonished Shinichi.

"Shinichi-kun? My, it has been a long time…"

The woman looked as pristine as ever. Not one blonde curl was out of place, even in her rush. Her fair skin was lightly painted with pink powders and glosses, her dainty neck and wrists were adorned with only the humblest of jewelry, and her matching black jacket and skirt were a nice business-like contrast to the bright, pink blouse she wore beneath them.

"Yes, it has."

"Kudou-kun?" Aoko questioned softly, eyeing the woman. Shinichi started, quickly regaining his composure after seeing the glint in his former teacher's eyes. "Oh, yes! Aoko, Kaito, I'd like to introduce my former etiquette teacher, Yamanaka Sawako. Yamanaka-sensei, this is Nakamori Aoko, the daughter of Nakamori Ginzo, the police inspector. And this is her friend, Kuroba Kaito, with whom I am temporarily living. Our parents were good friends."

"I see. It is a pleasure to meet both of you, even if Shinichi-kun still doesn't yet grasp how to introduce someone properly."

"Geh…Wh-what did I do wrong?"

And as if reading from one of her textbooks, she said, "When introducing someone to a group, you must always introduce the individual to the group first. You did the opposite, Kudou-kun. Also, when introducing and elder, regardless of how small that age difference may be, you should always introduce the oldest to the youngest first. Once again, you did the opposite." Shinichi remained silent after this, scowling.

"Wow. No wonder Kudou-kun has such great manners. You must have been a great teacher to him, Yamanaka-sensei" Aoko said, staring in awe at the woman. She turned to the girl and smiled.

"Please. I would prefer that you call me Sawa-chan."

"Oh. Alright. Sawa-chan."

"Yeah, that's great and all, but you still knocked her down, _Sawa-chan_, so maybe you should pay compensation," Kaito snarked

"Not you."

"What?"

"_You_, will address me as Yamanaka-sensei, as Shinichi-kun does."

"Whatever!" Kaito grunted.

"Well isn't this attitude familiar, nee, Shinichi-kun?" she asked with a smirk, glancing at him. Shinichi glared.

"Oi, oi…" he mumbled in protest. "Anyway, _if I may ask…_"

"You may."

"…Why are you hurrying?"

"Nosy as ever, but I suppose that's the Kudou in you. I am on my way to visit my friend, Kitamura Rima. You should remember her. She was a high school student at Teitan until she entered college and she was also another of my pupils. I paired the two of you together many times for your lessons."

"Yes, I remember."

"Unlike you, she shows great promise and I have continued to tutor her."

"Thanks…"

"I have actually been living in with her temporarily. You see, my fiancé, Kaname, is overseeing the renovations of our house so Rima offered a place to stay. I declined at first, but she was insistent, so I agreed to it in exchange for free lessons."

"So he finally asked you to marry him?" Shinichi asked.

"Yes, Six months ago. Regardless, I have to be off now. Rima-chan sounded awfully distressed over the phone. It was nice to meet you all."

Kaito glared but Aoko smiled and bowed and said, "It was nice to meet you too."

"Shinichi-kun, it was nice to see you again."

"It was nice to see you, as well, Yamanaka-sensei," he replied.

"Au revoir."

They waved and said their goodbyes as she continued on her way.

Aoko nudged Shinichi with her elbow. "I'm surprised that you survived your childhood with your sanity in tact."

"Sometimes I wonder if I really did or not…" Aoko giggled and Kaito saw red.

"Yeah, well, I _still _don't see any magic!" Aoko frowned but didn't respond as she began to look around the street once more in search of clothes that she might possibly get Shinichi to buy for her. She mentally giggled and grinned, getting that fluttery feeling to reappear in her stomach at the thought.

They spent the whole afternoon with Aoko shopping for clothes, Shinichi buying the clothes for Aoko, and Kaito scowling at the both of them while he carried some of the bags. They didn't decide to leave until most of the vendors were closing shop for the evening. The sky was getting dark and their legs began to ache as they walked home.

"My house is just around the corner," Aoko sighed sleepily. When they reached her doorstep, she invited them both in but they declined, merely resting the bags just inside the door before saying their goodnights and leaving her to rest.

It was silent for a block or so, but Kaito couldn't stand it.

"I thought I told you to leave her alone," he grumbled half-heartedly.

"You did."

"And there you two were, flirting up a storm ALL DAY."

"Kuroba, you should have realized by now that all contact today was initiated by Nakamori-san and not myself."

"Why did you keep buying things for her!"

"Because she kept asking."

"So! You should have said no!" Kaito yelled.

"Why?"

"Because that's my job!" he shouted, stopping in his tracks and facing the other. "Ever since you came here, you've been nothing but trouble for me! No one even looks twice at me anymore! You're taking my mom and Aoko and everyone at school and I hate it! I hate you!"

There was a long silence where Kaito tried to catch his breath while he stared angrily at the sidewalk.

"…is that what you really think?" Shinichi asked quietly. Kaito looked up at him.

"Yeah… It is."

Shinichi looked away for a moment as if wondering what he should say.

"Kuroba. I'm sorry."

"H-hey, don't start with that…"

"I mean it, Kuroba. I didn't come here to make your life a living Hell. I had no intentions of even making friends while I was here, but things changed. I can't say that I regret meeting Nakamori-san - she's a nice girl - but I already have a girl like that. I've known her like you've known Nakamori-san; since we were kids. Not to mention that I already have a whole school that fawns over me and parents that suffocate me. I don't need, or want, anymore."

Shinichi's cell phone broke the silence and he quickly moved to answer it. His eyebrows furrowed at the name of the screen.

_Yamanaka-sensei_

He was surprised that he still had her number programmed into his phone. He was even more surprised that Yamanaka-sensei still had _his _number. He flipped it open.

"Hello? Yamanaka-sensei?"

"_Shinichi-kun..?" She sounded surprised._

"Yes. What is it?"

"_I meant to call your father but…I suppose that you will do…please…hurry to the Rinosa building. Fourteenth floor. Room 1409."_

"What? Why?"

"_Just…hurry." _She sounded distressed. _"The police are already on their way."_

"What! The police?" Kaito was staring at him with interest now.

"What's going on?" he asked. Shinichi shook his head before continuing.

"Why are the police coming?"

"_Shinichi-kun…Rima…Rima-chan is dead…"_

_

* * *

_

_(1) __**Ki ni shi nai de - **__No problem_

* * *

_Aaannndd scene! Hur hur...Another update!_

_-DiGi__  
_


	11. Just Be Friends

**(Detective Conan disclaimed)**

_Alright! Let's keep this going! …now let's see what's been going on with Shiho-chan!_

It had only been a few hours since they had arrived at the safe house and Shiho was already restless and edgy. She wanted to escape the stifling room, but most of all, she wanted to escape the sharp gaze of Vermouth. She hadn't felt right around her since they met at the airport.

It was late afternoon and Vermouth had decided to entertain herself by reading magazines and following Shiho everywhere she decided to go. She was even waiting for her when she came out of the bathroom.

"Why do you insist on following me?" Shiho asked calmly even though she was dying to bash the woman over the head and run. Vermouth only smiled at her, pink-painted lips curving sinisterly. She pushed up her glasses and walked back to her armchair.

The house was hot and muggy with limited electricity and obviously no air conditioning. Shiho and her sister were covered in a sheen of sweat but the middle-aged woman who sat with them looked as calm and cool as ever.

"Ne, Shiho-chan…" Akemi whispered. Shiho looked over her shoulder at her sister as she fanned herself with one of the discarded magazines. "Don't you think it's odd? She's not sweating at all…" Shiho glanced at the woman who seemed to be completely absorbed in an article about hair care.

"It is odd. It's nearly 36 Celsius in this room alone. Her core temperature must be rising, so why isn't it being regulated?"

The magazine was closed and set onto the coffee table.

"I suppose that it is time for me to feed the two of you?" the woman asked as she adjusted the curls of her short hair and pushed the glasses further up the bridge of her nose. Without waiting for a response, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number. "Yes, I would like to order two house specials…yes, white rice. Two orders of deep-fried wonton…Cherry…Two orders of char sui and one popiah…delivery."

The woman continued to give information for a house down the street before hanging up and setting back down.

"I suppose that the two guys who were following us will get the food," Akemi said softly. Vermouth smiled.

"That's what they're there for."

It wasn't long before the food arrived and a Chinese feast was set out before them. Four containers of rice, two containers of fried chicken, lettuce, and almonds, two containers of an orange sauce, two containers of deep fried wonton, one of cherry sauce, two of barbecued pork, and one large wrap of something Shiho didn't really know.

Vermouth began eating before either of them even touched their plates. Akemi was the second to begin eating but she had to goad Shiho into it. She definitely didn't trust the woman.

It had been a whole day since the incident with the American dealer and Chianti was still unconscious. Calvados had acted as quickly as possible, carrying her to one of their hidden medical facilities. Her left eye was completely bandaged due to the burns but the doctor said that the gun had been pressed back far enough where her eyesight shouldn't have been affected. Now they only needed to wait for her to wake up before they could make a full analysis.

Calvados was confused. Never before had he been so affected by an injured partner as he was with Chianti. It wasn't because she was a girl. He had watched three past female partners die - Brandy, Chardonnay, and Margarita - and he hadn't even batted an eyelash at them. But Chianti was different…and that bothered him. Chianti shouldn't have meant more to him than any other human being, but for some reason, he ignored protocol. Instead of taking the money and leaving Chianti behind, he stayed, risking the entire assignment in order to save a woman that he barely new.

He scowled. Sitting in the chair next to her bed and waiting for her to crack an eyelid made his gut clench worse than any trigger-happy goon could ever hope to accomplish. If only she would open her eyes and tell him that she was fine…then maybe his mind could be put to rest and he could leave without regrets.

Pfft! Regrets, ha! What a ludicrous thought. An assassin? Have regrets about a dead girl? But his denial wouldn't put his mind at ease. So he waited…and waited…and waited for the moment that Chianti would wake up.

"…please…make it stop…" he mumbled to no one in particular, pressing his face into his hands and closing his eyes.

"Vermouth? May I ask you a question?"

The woman looked up from her magazine to view the eldest of the two sisters staring worriedly at her. She closed the pages and set it on her lap. "What is it, Aperol?"

The girl's eyes narrowed. Shiho was in her room. Akemi had tried to calm her into sleeping, but the girl was way too wound up to even consider it. She couldn't sleep where she didn't feel safe.

"Why is it that such a high-ranking member of the organisation is protecting us?"

Vermouth chose her words carefully before answering. "You ask some dangerous questions, Aperol. You just might get killed for that one day."

"Cut the crap!" she hissed, placing her hands on the armrests of Vermouth's chair. "I don't like lying to my sister. You said that you would help us."

"I sent you Dai, didn't I?"

Akemi's lip was quivering in response to the woman's coldness. "Yes."

"Then I do not see a problem. Do you, Akemi-chan?"

She backed away, looking at the floor. "No, Sharon."

"Good girl," she said, flipping back through the pages of her magazine. "You and Shiho-chan should get some sleep before tomorrow. If all is according to plan, we set out for Tokyo at ten."

Akemi nodded sullenly, hating to admit that the woman was the best chance that she and her sister had of getting away from the organisation. Silently, she trudged back to the room where Shiho was waiting and Vermouth waited until the door clicked shut behind her to spare a glance.

"**Don't worry, darlings. All is well. Very soon, Dai will show himself for what he truly is and you both shall be set free.**" Sharon Vineyard smiled wickedly. "**One way or another.**"

When Shinichi and Kaito arrived on the scene, red and blue lights were flashing and uniformed men were roping off the floor with yellow tape. The boys had taken the stairs and it wasn't so much a miracle as surprisingly good luck that they both snuck in undetected. But the boys didn't get within five metres of the room before a voice called out to them.

"You two! You shouldn't be he- Ah! Kudou-kun!"

Shinichi looked in the direction of the voice. It was Megure Juuzo, lead inspector of Division One.

"Keibu-san. It's good to see you," Shinichi said. Kaito noticed that his voice was kind, but strained, as if he was unsure whether or not this was a good or a bad thing.

"I would say 'likewise', but I'm afraid that I can't help but tell you to leave," the plump man responded sadly.

"But, Keibu-"

Megure raised a hand to silence him. "Kudou-kun. You know that I would love to have you on the case, but I'm afraid that this particular one may be too much for such a young mind to handle."

"Kudou-kun..? Is that you?" Both Megure and the boys looked around at the voice and found a woman with blonde hair looking helplessly over at them.

"You know this woman, Kudou-kun?"

Shinichi ignored his protests as he dodged the tape and made his way through the officers to hold his former teacher's shaking hands.

"Yamanaka-sensei. Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?" he asked quickly. She shook her head, quivering from head to toe.

"No. I'm alright…" she spoke softly. "Better than Rima-chan…" Her eyes filled with tears as she recounted the story.

"I'm surprised, actually…" Megure spoke to no one in particular before rounding on Kaito. "And who exactly are you?"

"K-Kuroba Kaito," he said nervously, watching as Shinichi spoke to the woman. "Why are you so surprised?" Megure looked back at the two.

"That woman hasn't said a word to us since we arrived and all of a sudden, the golden boy arrives and she's speaking. That boy is magic, I tell you," he chuckled. "He just has a way of calming victims down and getting them to tell him things that they wouldn't tell anyone else. His sweet face and voice just lure every one of them in."

"Lure? That doesn't sound very nice…"

"I don't know how he does it, but I suppose that I have no choice but to let him help now," Megure sighed. "Why does it always end up like this?" Looking back at Kaito, he was surprised to find that the boy had vanished. "Oh, good grief…now there's two of them."

Kaito quickly dodged his way through the officers until he could tap Shinichi's shoulder. The woman had dissolved into tears after telling him what had happened, so Shinichi stood up as Megure arrived. They moved aside as a doctor began to check Yamanaka Sawako.

"So what happened?" Kaito asked before the inspector even had the chance to open his mouth.

"Apparently, she was conducting one of her lessons with Rima, er, the victim, when she received a phone call from her fiancé, Kishio Kaname, at around 20:00, to meet him at their house. They've been doing renovations, and he said that she wanted to ask her some questions before he gave the workers the go-ahead. So, she traveled across town and arrived at the home at 21:00 due to traffic."

"There was a bomb-threat near the turnpike earlier this evening. It was cleared up pretty quickly though. A fake," Megure added. Shinichi nodded, continuing.

"She then says that she discussed the problems with Kishio-san before leaving at exactly 21:27. She says that when she arrived back at this building after 22:00, she entered the room with her key and found the girl dead. She immediately called the police and then accidentally dialed my number."

"Your number?" Megure asked, astonished. "Why did she call you?"

"She had meant to dial my father's number and ask him what to do."

"So, you know the suspect personally then?" Megure said gravely. Shinichi's eyes snapped to him.

"Keibu-san. I haven't seen her in years and you know very well that I will reveal the truth whether she is innocent or not. You know me, sir."

Megure frowned, obviously uncomfortable. "…just don't tell anyone, alright? And tell her the same. If someone tells the higher ups, things could get nasty for both of us."

"Of course."

Shinichi walked back over to Yamanaka-sensei and whispered something in her ear. She stared at him for a moment before nodding in compliance. He squeezed her shoulder before walking back to grab Kaito and drag him over to an area where they could get gloves and keep their shoes.

"So, why exactly am I going in with you?" Kaito asked, only slightly amused.

"You're the one who followed me. If you want to be here, then you've got to pull your weight, too."

"Alright! Alright!" Kaito whined and pouted as he slipped the latex gloves on with a snap. "Well, Meitantei-kun? What's next?"

Shinichi ignored his taunting, slipping off his shoes and crossing into the apartment. It did not take long to find Kitamura Rima. She was hanging by her neck from a rope that had been looped around a pipe on the ceiling, a wooden desk across the room, and ended in a loop around her ankle. The other end disappeared in the opposite direction, crawling over another pipe, around the kitchen counter, before joining the other on the same ankle, leaving deep purple bruises.

Kaito visibly paled, looking aghast as Shinichi immediately began circling the body and examining the raven-haired girl that was suspended before them. He could see that Shinichi was deep in thought by his pursed lips, furrowed brows, and the fingers that brushed against his chin. He checked the girl's wrists, arms, ankles, legs, shoes, neck, face, everything he could think of.

"What exactly are you looking for, Kudou?" Kaito questioned solemnly.

He went unanswered. It didn't even seem that the boy had heard him. Kaito frowned, disliking the lack of attention, and began to search the room.

"She died slowly; she was hanging at least an hour…" Shinichi muttered.

"Z'at so?" he asked, peering under the desk. Two paper clips, a cell phone, numerous papers, and hidden under those papers, a chew bone. He glanced across the floor; there was a thin layer of short brown hairs. He peered back at Shinichi. "Hey."

Shinichi glanced at him. "What is it?"

"Did the girl own a dog?"

"Does it matter?"

Kaito glanced back at the toy. "Hmm…" He stood, moving around the room once more as Shinichi went back to the girl.

They were disrupted as an officer burst into the room, shouting for the inspector.

"Sir! They've just apprehended Kitamura-san. He's on his way to HQ now. Would you like me to escort Yamanaka-san? Her fiancé is there as well," the officer informed them.

Megure nodded. "Yes. We'll question all three of them at the station."

"Aa!" The man saluted and then left. The inspector turned back to the boys.

"Who did they apprehend?" Shinichi asked.

"Kitamura Shiki, a cousin of the victim. Apparently, she owed him a great deal of money. He assaulted her two days ago and has escaped custody ever since." Shinichi thought this detail over for a moment before Megure continued. "Well, if you two are finished, I suppose that you should go home since you seem to have found nothing."

Shinichi frowned, glancing once more at the girl before nodding to Megure. "Come on, Kaito."

"Well, that was a little disappointing, Meitantei-kun." Shinichi frowned at Kaito's jeer. He quickly grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him from the room, completely silent until they had walked at least a block from the building.

"This doesn't feel right…" he finally said, sweating slightly, and glancing over his shoulder every few moments. Kaito raised an eyebrow at his behavior.

"What, exactly, doesn't feel right? Ya know, besides the fact that you just so happened to run into one of the suspects of a murder case this afternoon," he mocked. Shinichi ignored the tone.

"It's too easy. So far, any one of them could have done it-"

"That is where you are wrong."

"…what?" Shinichi asked, genuinely confused. Kaito smiled mischievously, pulling a plastic bag from the inside pocket of his jacket. Shinichi's eyes widened.


	12. All We Gotta Do Is Just Be Friends

**(Detective Conan disclaimed)**

_Alright! Next one!_

_

* * *

_

"Kaito! You can't do that!" Shinichi hissed, snatching for the bag that was just out of his reach. Kaito closed one eye and frowned at him.

"Why are you so familiar with me all of a sudden, Kudou?" he asked dryly.

Shinichi flushed slightly, realizing the blunder. "I-it doesn't matter! Just go back and give that to the police like you're supposed to, you klepto!"

Kaito shook his head. "Nuh-uh. No way. I found it. It's my evidence."

"You stole it! What else have you stolen, huh?"

"Kudou, whatever I've stolen before this has been for parlor tricks, okay? It's not my profession. I promise."

Shinichi looked appalled at the idea of stealing evidence, but he kept his mouth shut. He wasn't exactly orthodox himself. "Just…give it to me. When I go to the station tomorrow to ask more questions I'll give it back myself." He held out his hand expectantly.

Kaito glanced from Shinchi's face, to his hand, and back. "What part of "my evidence" didn't you get?" he deadpanned. Shinichi groaned before spinning and storming off.

"Fine! Get arrested!"

Kaito stuck his tongue out at him but followed.

When they arrived at the Kuroba residence, it was well past midnight and they were given a harsh lecture about worrying her. Shinichi was subsequently blamed for everything, by Kaito, before they were both sent to bed. Neither spoke to each other for the rest of the night.

Kaito sat in his room, carefully examining the object in the plastic bag. It was an ordinary, white handkerchief with the letters "Y.S." embroidered into the fabric with pink thread.

"Yamanaka Sawako…"

It looked as if it had been wet because there were a few dark splotches. He never unsealed the bag, but it didn't seem like such an action was needed.

He pouted when he thought about how Kudou had blown up at him before he was even able to explain his theory. He thought it was a pretty valid theory, too, even though he had never really tried to solve a case before.

Well, if Kudou wanted to play that way, Kaito would just have to do some investigation on his own and solve the case before him. A smirk lit up his face.

* * *

"_Can you sing it with me, Shin-chan?" He gazed up at her happily as she spoke to him once again after finishing the song. "Ready? ~Kirakira hikaru.~" He babbled a bit at the pretty sound and she smiled down at him. "~Osora no hoshi yo. Mabataki shite wa, minna o miteru.~" He clutched onto the index fingers of both her left and right hands. "~Kirakira hikaru, osora no hoshi yo.~"_

_And suddenly the words changed back to the smooth language again as she sang the song once more. "__**~Twinkle, twinkle, little star. How I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky.~**__" He brightened up even more at the sounds that were only ever uttered in his presence by this beautiful woman with the beautiful voice. "__**~Twinkle, twinkle, little star. How I wonder what you are.~**__"_

_She traced his stomach with the tips of her fingers and he giggled happily at the tingly feeling. But suddenly, the fingers stopped and pressed painfully into his stomach, her words becoming icy shells of their former comfort. He didn't like this feeling._

"_Just wait, Shin-chan. You'll grow up in a world full of hate and murder and destruction. It'll tear you apart, one day. I heard from a Roma girl that you're going to be struck down…" Shinichi began to cry. He didn't understand the words, but he didn't like the tone in which they were being said. "Shh, Shin-chan. Don't worry. All that is a long way off…"

* * *

_

She felt light, floating almost. But slowly, pain began to seep into her very soul. Her bones felt stiff and her left eye felt hot and it stung. She winced and the spell was broken. Her eye fluttered open to a dark room. She noted that one of her eyes was bandaged as well as a few of her limbs but she didn't have the strength to lift her head and look at the extent of the damage.

"Chianti?" She glanced to her left. It was Calvados sitting next to her.

"Calvados?"

She heard him sigh in relief. "That was stupid and reckless and I hope you know that. You're plan almost got us both killed…"

She chuckled lowly and coldly. "You shouldn't be worried about me. It doesn't matter if I die," she said solemnly with smile.

His eyes narrowed but he didn't like where the conversation was heading.

"Anokata sent a message saying that, as soon as you are capable, you're to return to Osaka and join Syrah and Merlot for a mission. One month at the most, or you should know what will happen."

She nodded weakly, grimacing. "Better get to work, then."

* * *

"Damn that woman…" he grunted, searching the area through the scope. Once again, Ouzo had decided to take things into her own hands and run off into the crowd in a black pantsuit and glasses. She was nowhere to be seen.

After having received praise for such a successful run the other night when Ouzo had poisoned the wealthy man involved in funding FBI efforts to destroy the Organisation, she and Korn had quickly obtained another assignment. They were to assassinate Itou Yukimasa, the Prime Minister candidate from the Kyousan-tou, or Communist Party.

Yukimasa was said to be leaning on the Organisation to provide funding and support from the shadows in order to help him become the next leader of Japan. Anokata had no interest in him, so it was passed down that Yukimasa knew too much and was to be eliminated before he tried to leak information to the authorities.

The man wasn't very smart for pressuring the Organisation, for one, and he didn't even have bulletproof glass in front of the podium at which he was speaking.

"_Don't take the shot, Korn,_" he heard his "partner" whisper through the com. He spotted her red curls bouncing above the crowd as she tried weasel her way through to where the man would be exiting. "_I'll get him as he's leaving._"

Korn frowned as the crosshairs surrounded the man's head. "Sorry, Ouzo. I have an open shot. I'm taking it. I suggest you get out of there."

"_No! Korn, wait!_"

But it was too late. Red splattered across the politicians seated behind him and his head jerked back with a snap. He landed with a thud on the carpet behind the podium. As if it was a signal, they all began to panic and scream, hurrying to get away. The officers reacted instantly, blocking off all of the exits, and Korn faintly noticed that a bob of orange hair was being shoved along with the current. Ouzo was stuck.

Korn shrugged. It served her right for rushing into everything.

He disassembled the Barret M99 and placed each piece into it's case before hurrying down the stairs, making sure to block the cameras' view of his face as he left.

After picking up every bit of incriminating evidence from their safe house, Korn decided that it was unsafe to stay in a place that could potentially be leaked to the police. He waited at a hotel room for a few hours before finally flipping on the news to see if there was anything on Ouzo.

He watched unfazed as a black-clad woman with a cloth over head, a few red curls slipping beneath it, was escorted to a police car.

"_A woman has been arrested at this time,_" the reporter on the screen announced. "_It seems that she may not be directly responsible for the death of Itou Yukimasa as no gun has been found on her person or in the area, but she was carrying a strange, unidentified substance with her that some say, could be poison."_

He clicked the power button, turning of the noise. He had no more interest in hearing about his endeavors. He knew where Ouzo was and he would report it to the Organisation. They would decide on how to proceed.

It was already midnight and Korn sadistically wondered how Ouzo was enjoying her cell. His first night of silence for a week, it seemed.

He smiled, rolling over on the bed and peacefully drifting off into a light sleep.

* * *

"That's so terrifying!"

"I know! And the people were really starting to back him too…"

"To think, a man as safeguarded as Yukimasa-san could just be gunned down like that."

"Sonoko! You're making it sound even worse!" Ran squealed in horror, curling her knees into her chest as she sat on the office sofa, watching the television. They had turned it around on Mouri Kogorou's desk to watch a movie. After it was over, they turned it off and began watching the horrifying news.

"I know, but it's true, isn't it?" the blonde girl responded with a shiver, subconsciously scooting closer to the girl. "It's not safe anymore. They've even started killing policemen more often."

Tears formed in the brunette's eyes as she thought about her missing friend and she grew silent.

"Oi! Come on! Kudou's not gonna get hurt!"

"You can't promise me that…" Ran muttered.

Shinichi had told her that he would only be in Ekoda for a week, but now it had been well over a month and he still had not contacted her; not a phone call, not even so much as a text message. She had asked the school administration about his extended stay, but they couldn't give her any real information. Ran heard the same thing from every single person she asked. Shinichi had requested a longer stay due to the case and that he would contact the school when he decided to come back.

How difficult could this case be for the "great" Kudou Shinichi? He could solve murders in a few hours, so why was he having so much trouble with a missing person? She had so many unanswered questions…

"Ran? I really didn't mean to make you worry…" Sonoko mumbled in apology and Ran smiled sadly in return.

"It's not your fault. It's his. He's gotten so caught up in this case that he's forgotten me…"

"Ran…" There was a moment of awkward silence as Ran thought through her situation and Sonoko decided that enough was enough. "Alright, that's it. This is the last time I want to see you cry about him, okay? Tomorrow, we're taking a trip to Ekoda to visit the mystery-freak and show him what's what!"

"Sonoko, we can't bug him on a case-"

"Case-schmace. He'll get over it. You better be ready tomorrow morning. At eight, you hear me? Eight in the morning," Sonoko demanded. Ran smiled a little.

"Alright. I'll be ready to go."

"EIGHT."

"Eight. I got it," she giggled, hugging her best friend as she stood to leave. A car had probably been waiting for her out front for a good twenty minutes, but when they saw the news, they had to see what was going on.

Sonoko waved goodbye and locked the door behind her. Ran waited until she heard the car pull away outside before she rose to turn of the box. She laid down on the sofa, pulling the quilt over her and facing the cushions.

She did not feel like sleeping in her room that night. She didn't feel safe at all with a killer on the loose, and with Shinichi gone, she felt more vulnerable than ever.

"Eight…"

* * *

She felt numb. Her sister had been speaking rather heatedly with the woman, Vermouth. Shiho had not caught _what _was actually being said and she did not like being kept in the dark in such a dangerous situation. If her life was in danger, she wanted to know about so that she could protect herself. But first on the plane with Rye and now at the safe house with Vermouth; Shiho was beginning to think that Akemi was in on something extremely dangerous.

It had been awhile since her elder sister had slipped into the room and laid down on the other bed. It didn't take long for her to begin breathing shallowly.

She did not understand how Akemi could put any of her trust in these people. Rye and Vermouth were members, fairly high-ranking members, of the Organisation, and for Akemi to be having dealings with them was foolish at best. These were people from the same group that killed their mother and father as well as thousands of other human beings, regardless of guilt. She hated them with everything inside of her, but there was no way out. No one had ever escaped them alive, so it was either work for them or die.

Shiho definitely did not want to die. Not yet. Not while she had a foolish elder sister to care for.

She grimaced, trying not to think about what was going on behind the scenes. If there was anything she knew about these people, it was that the more you knew about them, the more likely you were to be killed by them. Don't ask questions. Don't tell anyone anything. That was how the Organisation had survived. If someone wanted to flip on them, they were quickly disposed of. They either stayed in or they died; simple as that.

Akemi was her reason for living now, so she would do everything in her power to keep her safe. If that meant taking out Vermouth, or Rye, or even both, she would not hesitate.

It was almost as if Sharon could hear her thoughts, for as she sat glancing out the window, she smiled at the bloodlust she felt from the other room.

"**You'll make a wonderful agent**," she drawled in perfect English. "**Sherry**."

* * *

_Just... a lot of different things happening all at once. It's kinda hard to think up a complex storyline and still have it make sense to you guys._

_So...MORE INVESTIGATION in the next chapter (which should be up in a few days). Kaito and Shinichi are going to come up with conflicting theories and YOU get to guess which is correct!_

_**THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF THE REVIEWS!** If I did not reply to one last time, please, yell at me for it. I PROMISE that I will try to reply to everyone!_

_-DiGi_


	13. Through The Grapevine

**(Detective Conan disclaimed)**

_Let's keep this going! 2 chapters in less than a few hours! WHAT!_

_

* * *

_

_I hope that those two survived the night with each other…_ Aoko thought worriedly. Neither Shinichi nor Kaito had been in the best of moods when they had dropped her off at home last night. It had obviously been a long day for Kaito, but she didn't think that Shinichi had felt any bit comfortable being there with them. He obviously still felt out of place in Ekoda and she didn't quite know what she could do to make it easier on everyone involved.

Perhaps paying them a visit might cheer both of them up? That is what Aoko thought of when she got up that morning. It was almost nine when she locked the front door behind her. She had left a note for her father in case she decided to spend the rest of the day with them, but she doubted that he would get home before her. He had been working normal hours up until the previous night. He had been called into the office to cover for a few investigators that had been called to a crime scene at the Rinosa Apartment Building. He had returned a little after one in the morning and had to get up again that day and be at work by eight.

She sighed, brushing a few of the wrinkles from her new, deep blue skirt. She had bought it to match Shinichi's… A flush rose to her cheeks as she realized it. She wrung her hands in the fabric, looking anywhere but down. She had bought it to match her light blue blouse which draped over her delicate shoulders like silk, bunching at the shoulders and draping a few inches. She had even bought the blue flats and the blue ribbon, which held back the majority of her mousy hair. She matched beautifully.

Without even realizing it, Aoko was now only a block away from the Kuroba's.

That was when she noticed the two girls across the street looking around as they glanced at a small piece of paper in the brunette's hand. They were about the same age as her and clearly lost. Looking down both ends of the street, she quickly trotted her way to the other side of the road to see if she could help them. Kaito and Shinichi could wait another minute or so.

The two girls looked up at her when she approached and she noticed the remarkable similarity between herself and the long-haired, brunette.

"Excuse me, but… do you need some help finding something?" Aoko asked sweetly. They both smiled in return, the blonde's a bit brighter than the other.

"Yeah, actually," the blonde chirped, snatching the paper and handing it to Aoko. "We're looking for this address. It's supposed to be around here somewhere, right?"

Aoko's eyes widened as she read the address on the paper. "The Kuroba's house?"

"Yes," the calmer of the two replied. "I'm actually looking for Kudou Shinichi. His mother told me that he was staying there. I kinda need to talk to him."

A sudden pang of jealousy rose in Aoko's throat when she realized that these girls were looking for Shinichi, but she swallowed it and smiled. "I'm going there right now, actually. I could take you there."

"See?" the blonde girl teased, nudging the other in the arm. "I told you that we'd find your husband."

_H-h-husband! _Aoko's mind squeaked and she knew that her face had given away her surprise, but the meek girl seemed not to have even seen it because her face lit up in embarrassment at her friend's comment.

"Sonoko!" she whined, but the girl just chuckled, turning back to, a now fully composed, Aoko.

"That's right. My name is Suzuki Sonoko," the girl said proudly. Aoko recognized the name from a large consulting firm. "And this is Kudou Ran."

"_Sonoko!_" Ran squealed at the girl before turning to Aoko. "My name is Mouri Ran. _Please _ignore her."

Aoko felt a tic coming on but tried her best to hide her frustration at meeting her crush's so-called "wife."

"That's alright. I'm Nakamori Aoko," she said forcefully, but if the girls noticed, their faces didn't show it.

So, Aoko led them the rest of the way to the Kuroba house, not completely unintentionally letting the gate slip from her fingers and hit Ran. She apologized, but it had felt surprisingly good.

Aoko tried turning the knob, but the door was locked, much to her surprise. Kaito normally had enough traps set to send any burglar running for cover so it wasn't necessary to actually lock the front door. She quickly made her way around the house, motioning for the apprehensive girls to follow. Upon reaching the back door, Aoko tried the knob again.

Also locked…

Aoko frowned. "Oh, come on. You never lock the doors…"

"Maybe we should knock?" Ran offered.

Aoko felt heat rise up her spine and the back of her neck. "I know what I'm doing. Don't worry."

Making sure that her shoes were securely fastened, Aoko hopped up onto the single railing and helped herself onto the roof of the first floor.

"Ah, be careful!"

"Don't fall!"

She ignored the girls' warnings, stomping over to the open window on the left and sliding into the house. Less than thirty seconds had passed when she opened the back door to let the girls inside. They quietly tread into the house; it was the kitchen.

"Nobody's home right now, but if you go through that archway and down the hall, there's a door to the sitting room at the base of the stairs," Aoko said mechanically, having been there hundreds, maybe thousands of times before. She opened the fridge and peered inside, looking for the apple juice that Kuroba-san loved so much. Pulling out the bottle, she set it on the counter and proceeded to open a cabinet for a glass. The others were shocked.

"Nakamori-san? Should we be in here when they aren't home? Isn't this illegal?" Sonoko questioned nervously.

"It's fine. Do you want something to drink?" Aoko asked, pouring the juice. "There's apple and orange juice, milk, there's tea in the cabinet, and, obviously, water.

"J-just some water, if you wouldn't mind?" Ran stuttered.

"Actually, some juice sounds great," Sonoko added, suddenly comfortable with being offered drinks from a stranger's house.

Aoko took a gulp of her own drink before pulling down two more cups and filling each with their appropriate beverage. She set them on the island in the middle of the room before grabbing her own and leading the girls to the couch. Aoko curled up in the chair with the remote while the others sat stiffly on the couch.

"Nakamori-san?" Ran called quietly.

Not taking her eyes off of the changing channels she hummed in response.

"What exactly..? What are we doing?" she asked.

"Well, I don't know when the boys'll be home, but Kuroba-san should be back pretty soon. She never spends more than an hour or so at the market," she stated matter-of-factly.

"How do you know that she went to the market?" Sonoko asked suspiciously.

"They're almost out of apple juice."

Sonoko leaned over and whispered to Ran. "Are we sure that _Kudou _is such a great detective?" She got an elbow in her ribs.

* * *

"And you're _sure_ that you didn't hear _anything_ that night, Ma'am?"

"No, I didn't hear a peep from that room all night."

"Well, thank you for your time," Shinichi said with a charming smile.

The elderly woman became flustered, the terrier behind her barking. He walked away in frustration as she closed the door, drowning out all sound but the dog's yapping. Kaito was smirking as Shinichi walked up to him.

"Nothing?" he asked.

Shinichi shook his head, running his fingers through his dark hair and ruffling it, the other hand holding his hip. "Not a damn thing…"

"Ooh, that's some nasty language, Meitantei-san."

Shinichi gave him a quick glare before continuing. "It's all the same. No one heard anything that night. No yells, no banging, nothing."

"And the dog?"

Shinichi frowned. "What is it with you and that dog?"

"What?" Kaito yelped, looking offended. "Can't I be worried about Yamanaka-sensei's dog? It ran off when she opened the door to the apartment, remember? That's what she _said _anyway."

"Yeah, well, I don't think that thing-"

"Kenshin. Her name is Kenshin," Kaito interrupted.

"_Kenshin_ has any vital information to give us. Unless, of course, you happen to have a trick that can make dog's speak in a human tongue?" he asked in a very tongue-in-cheek way.

Kaito waved it off. "Nah, that's more like Koizumi's "magic" than mine."

Shinichi stared. "Koizumi _Akako_?" he asked skeptically.

"Yeah, man. You haven't met her yet?" he said in astonishment. "She's totally creepy. A real whack-job. Always talking about her pagan spells and her fireside discussions with 'Lucifer'."

A shiver went up Shinichi's spine as he thought back to his first day at Ekoda Junior High School. He had been pondering the reason's for the student body to have wildly colored and styled hair; thinking something about a witch. And then, there she had been, as if reading his mind. She had mentioned "Lucifer" then, as well, and he remembered thinking something about stealing souls…

"Yes…I met her…" he muttered.

"Scary, isn't she?"

Shinichi nodded, but was surprised when he heard someone whispering his name. He looked around to see the old lady with whom he had been speaking previously and noticed that she was looking skeptically down the halls, motioning n=him closer. He hurried back over to her and leaned down where Kaito couldn't hear.

"You didn't hear this from me, but that woman's intended, Kaname-san, was fooling around with Rima. I saw them arguing numerous times while Sawa-chan was away. They would always try to whisper, but it got pretty heated sometimes," she muttered. "'I love you! That's all I ever wanted to say!' she said one night. 'But you're with Sawa-chan so I can't!' Rima cried a lot over that one."

"I see…" Shinichi replied.

"Remember! You didn't hear it from me."

"Hear what?" he said with a smile.

She quickly closed the door again and Shinichi moved back to a confused Kaito.

"So what did she say?" he asked.

"First, tell me why you took that handkerchief and I will divulge everything that I know," Shinichi answered and Kaito's eyes narrowed.

"Fine. I don't need to know." With that, he stormed back to the room in which the crime took place.

On his way, he heard two officers mumbling about the case.

"Yeah, her cousin got caught last night. I bet they're still questioning him!" one said.

"Probably. That girl owed him a lot of money, and he already beat her up once for it. I wouldn't be surprised if it was him."

Kaito hurried past, pretending not to have heard a word of their conversation, but in fact, he was mulling it over in his mind. They were definitely talking about the deceased's cousin, Shiki. If Rima had owed him money, and he had already physically assaulted her, it wouldn't be such a leap to believe that he would do it again under the same circumstances.

This conflicted with his theory, though… He knew that he couldn't ignore it, but the information could be completely coincidental. If that was case, then Kaito had nothing to worry about. If not…well, Kaito would end up with the short end of the stick because he didn't really have anything else to go on at that time. He would just have to investigate more and revise his idea if necessary.

Entering the room once again, he noticed that the body had finally been removed, the noose dangling ominously from the ceiling. A clip bound the two ropes together where they were attached to the victim's ankle and he was glad to see the ropes in the same position they had been in the previous night when Rima had been tangled in them. He smiled at the fact that some real police work had been accomplished and nothing was totally botched… at least not anything that Kaito could directly see. Hopefully, that feeling would remain when he began searching the room once more.

The former wet spots on the handkerchief had to be tears, he remembered. It smelled salty when he had picked up the bag that morning. The dark stains that remained had lightened greatly over night. But the point still stood; Rima had been crying into Sawako's handkerchief before she died. For some reason, Rima had been upset sometime after Sawako left and before she was strung up by her neck from the pipes in the ceiling by a rope.

Why? Why had Rima been crying before she died? Was she scared for her life? …or maybe… did she regret what she was about to do?

Realization dawned on Kaito as he realized why the girl had stains on her cheeks and why the neighbors hadn't heard anything.

Rima was, indeed, a brilliant young woman. She was clever as a fox.

_Kudou Shinichi, you're going down…_

_

* * *

_

_Kaito is REALLY serious about this. And while he's competing with Shinichi for Aoko, Aoko is competing with Ran for Shinichi. XD Beautiful, no?_

_**ALSO!** Anyone who gets anywhere close to being correct in guessing the actual who and how of the crime will receive redeemable points from me for a free fanfiction of their choice (within certain fandoms of course) written by me!_

_I love you all! Thank you for reviewing!_

_-DiGi  
_


	14. Ridikulus

**(Detective Conan disclaimed)**

_Well, I promised that this chapter would be up, so here it is (even if it's a bit late). Let's just say that I'm working my butt off for these, haha. Between work and class, I hardly have the time to roll these out… But, I am doing my best!_

_

* * *

_

The pain was just too great. Chianti could not help but collapse into a heap on the floor. With only one month to regain her former strength, Chianti was being greatly pressured to recuperate, but there was only so much that she could take. The doctor and nurse rushed to her side once again, telling her that she should rest and wait to start her rehabilitation so that her bones had more time to heal. She shrugged them off.

It had been a whole day of slowly driving herself into insanity through pain and frustration. Taking a hold of the side table, Chianti gingerly pulled herself to her feet. Her body was on fire it seemed, but she pulled one foot forward regardless.

She collapsed again and the great amount of pain kept her from retaliating when they pulled her back into the bed to rest. After a few minutes of checking her for numerous minutes and administering more pain medication, they left her alone.

"Damn it…" She felt helpless and she absolutely despised it. It had been three days since the incident and she was already aggravated by her position. If only that American bitch hadn't been so sneaky. The fact that she underestimated her adversary was just another subject on the list of things that were pissing her off at the moment.

Calvados was probably on another mission and she could only guess where Korn had ended up after his mission with Ouzo.

She sighed, finally feeling the effects of the medication.

* * *

"I'm sorry, but I can't give out any information on the case," the officer stated, brushing off the reporters. Korn stood amidst the crowd of curious faces, mentally scoffing at the lack of information. Ouzo was being held at the Metropolitan Police Station under heavy surveillance; it would be impossible to get her out right then. He decided that he would report back to the Organisation as planned and ride the current from there.

As he turned to walk away he began to wonder whether or not she would be in this position if he had listened to her and waited. He countered his doubt with the thought that she wouldn't be in this situation if she had listened to him and waited as well.

After grabbing all of his bags and wiping the room clean of any evidence that would suggest that he had been there, Korn left the hotel and traveled a few short blocks to a real estate company. He took a shortcut to the back of the building and ducked inside. Traveling down a few secluded halls, Korn ended up in the lobby, bypassing the security checkpoint that would be sure to sound off at the sign of his weaponry.

Korn slipped into the third line behind two other groups. It wasn't a long wait. After a few short minutes, Korn was taken into an office to exactly the woman he was looking for. The plate on the desk read Kuroki Hisa. He sneered at the blatant assertion that name held. Written with the kanji for "black" in Kuroki and "everlasting" in Hisa, it was almost begging for someone to realise the lie.

The woman, with her short orange bob cut and familiar European face, stood out greatly against the mainstream population.

"What can I do for you?" she asked with a condescending smile, leaning back and folding her hands over her stomach as he entered and shut the door behind him.

"I'm sure you've heard. A woman has been taken into custody in regards to the Itou assassination, Raki," he answered calmly.

Her mouth twitched. "My sister, I suppose?" she asked quietly. Korn nodded. "And? Have you come all this way to tell me this, Korn?"

"Of course not. I have a report that needs filing," he said, dropping the folder on her desk. She glanced at it before returning her gaze to him.

"A report? That must mean you don't plan on rescuing her."

"No," he said simply. She nodded with a frown, sitting up and picking up the folder.

"Alright." She brushed the wrinkles out of her dark jade dress pants before walking over to the bookshelf. She pulled back one of the books halfway and a whole section of the floor slid open.

"How European…" Korn sneered. Raki only smiled.

"I like to do things like they do in my homeland," she chirped, pulling up on a handle until the filing cabinet stood as tall as she. She yanked one of the drawers open, depositing the file and shutting it, before pushing it back into the floor. The floor slid closed of its own accord. "Well, your report has been filed. The runner will be here in two days."

Korn nodded, taking his leave.

Raki slid into her chair, leaning back and glowering at the ceiling. **"Bloody eejit…"**

**

* * *

**

Rye was never a man of many words, and luckily, neither was Calvados. For that, both were very thankful. They got things done and didn't have to worry about the chit-chat that most of the Organisation members seemed to be so fond of.

They were currently at the airport terminal, waiting for their plane to America. They were to be tracking down the mysterious American from before. Calvados was surprised to find out that Rye had worked with her in the past and that was the reason he was there. In one of their very short conversations, Calvados had found out that the woman's alias was "Betty-Ann". She was somewhere around twenty-five or twenty-six years old with naturally sandy brown hair and pale blue eyes.

Though the fact that bothered him most was that he now knew more about Betty-Ann than he did about Rye.

* * *

"Oh! Hello…"

Aoko jumped up from her seat. "Okaeri, Obaa-chan." Minami was standing in the doorway in surprise in her pink and green dress.

"Ta…daima… Aoko-chan? Who..?" she asked.

The two girls stood up and gave small bows in greeting. "Hello, Kuroba-san. My name is Mouri Ran and this is Suzuki Sonoko." Sonoko waved. "We're friends of Shinichi."

Minami smiled at the girls. "It's nice to meet you, girls. Forgive me. I was expecting to come home to an empty house since the boys left this morning. Excuse me for just a moment while I put these in the kitchen."

The girls nodded and sat in silence as they waited for Minami to return. Aoko had even shut the television off. It didn't take long for her to return with a plate of cookies.

"I just baked these last night and heated them up in the oven so they should be nice and gooey," she said with a smile.

"Thank you, so much, Kuroba-san!" Ran replied in surprise. They each took a cookie and settled in.

"So, you're Shinichi's friends? He didn't mention having anyone come over," the woman prodded.

"Well, he didn't know, actually," Ran muttered.

"Yeah, the mystery-freak won't answer his phone and he's had Ran worried sick since he won't call her either," Sonoko added in rage.

"He hasn't contacted you at all?" she asked in surprise. Ran shook her head sadly. "Well, thank you for bringing them inside, Aoko. I would hate to have had them waiting on me."

"Of course, Baa-chan," Aoko responded after swallowing a mouthful of the chocolaty treat.

"Anyway, the boys should be home in a few hours. You're all welcome to stay until then if you would like," Minimi offered.

* * *

"You're sure that no explosives were actually found at the scene?"

"_Positive. The call was definitely a hoax. Blasted prank calls…"_

"Well, thank you anyway." With that, Kudou Shinichi ended the call, flipping his cell phone shut and checking the time. It was a little after eleven.

He had been correct in assuming that the bomb threat on the night of the crime had been a fake. If his second assumption was correct, the call had been a ruse set up by the culprit to waste Yamanaka-sensei's time. Looking around the side streets Shinichi was calculating the time it would've taken for each of the suspects to travel to the Rinosa building. They had found Rima's cousin, Shiki, at a crowded tavern about ten miles away. In a car, it might have only taken him about a thirty minute round trip. But that was assuming that he left at the same time as Yamanaka-sensei. There was still the possibility that he had been waiting for the woman to leave to strike and then hurried to the bar. With how much money he was owed, he definitely had the motive to kill her. As packed as the bar would have been the night of Shunbun no hi, Shinichi doubted that he could find someone that could verify his alibi as well. The problem with this theory was the bomb threat. It could have just been a coincidence but…

Without realizing it, he had bumped into someone. Mentally slapping himself for letting something like that happen two days in a row, he quickly apologized to the girl before continuing on his way. He really needed to learn how to balance thought and reality… It was already hard enough to just think with the construction going on down the street.

Regardless, from the site of Kishio Kaname and Yamanaka-sensei's house, it would've taken approximately forty minutes both ways, thirty if one was speeding. With Yamanaka-sensei having lived in Beika for most of her life, it would be safe to assume that she would be stuck in traffic. Even if Kaname knew these streets, there was no way he could have gone to the apartment, killed Rima, and returned before his fiancée. If that were the case then the only one left would be Yamanaka-sensei.

It was still possible that Yamanaka-sensei had simply killed the girl before she left. If what the neighbor said was true about Kaname and Rima having an affair, and Yamanaka-sensei had found out, she had plenty of reason to want her dead. The same went for Kaname if he wanted to keep her quiet about it.

He figured that the only way to find anything else out would be to ask, so he quickly traveled to the police department in order to find out a bit more about Shiki. He was surprised to find Kaito already there arguing with Megure-keibu.

"I understand what you're saying, Kuroba-kun, but it's against protocol to allow a civilian to question suspects," Megure explained to a nearly irate Kaito.

"I just want to ask him something about the dog!" Kaito replied loudly. "Is that really too much to ask?"

"Are you seriously still on about that stupid dog?" Shinichi asked in irritation as he stopped next to him.

"Ah, Kudou-kun!" Megure greeted.

"Yes, I am! You're not the only one who can think, Chikusho-nichi!" Kaito swore. Shinichi gaped at him.

"Does everyone in Ekoda have some weird obsession with tying insults into each others' names?" he asked, a little taken aback by the boy's rudeness. Kaito just stood there seething as Kudou turned to the inspector.

"What brings you here, Kudou-kun?" the large man asked. He was sweating a bit, Shinichi noticed. Obviously Kaito had been giving him a hard time for awhile now.

"Actually, I have a few questions that I was hoping that you or a couple of the suspects could answer."

"I'll do my best, Kudou-kun."

"Alright, you caught the victim's cousin, Shiki, at the Gendou tavern?"

"Yeah, he was completely trashed by the time we found him," Megure responded, shaking his head. "On of our rookies, Takagi-kun, took a blow to the nose before Satou-kun finally subdued him. At this time, he's still claiming to have no connection to the crime."

"I see…do you mind if I ask him a question or two?"

"Kudou-kun, you know that I can't let you speak with him directly…" Megure muttered sadly. "As much as I would like to let you, you're still a civilian and a boy no less…" Kaito smirked at him.

"Is one of the officer's questioning him now?" he asked, refusing to be deterred.

Megure nodded. "Satou and Chiba were headed to do that just now, actually…let me guess. You want to speak with them before they go in there, don't you?" Shinichi smiled thankfully in return and the inspector sighed, motioning an officer over. "Please contact Satou-keiji and Chiba-keiji and tell them to meet me in my office immediately." The officer saluted and rushed off to perform his duties.

"How come he gets special treatment!" Kaito whined. Megure frowned.

"Kuroba, it's not 'special treatment'. I-" Shinichi began but was cut off by Megure.

"No, he just knows how to work the system to his advantage," Megure harrumphed, eyeing the young detective ruefully. "Much to everyone around here's aggravation." Shinichi almost looked apologetic before Megure led the boys to his office. It didn't take long for Satou to come rushing in, followed closely by a panting Chiba.

"Megure-keibu! What's wrong?" Satou asked in a panic.

"Calm down, Satou-kun!" the inspector replied in exasperation. "It's nothing that would require you to sprint all the way here."

She visibly relaxed and Chiba leaned against the door clutching his chest as he attempted to regain his breath. The man really needed to get out and exercise more often, but the same could be said about Megure-keibu. Glancing around the room, Satou noticed the two boys.

"Megure-keibu?" she asked, motioning toward them.

"Ah, Satou-kun, this is Kudou Shinichi and Kuroba Kaito. Kudou-kun has aided the police with investigations in the past. Boys, this is Satou Miwako and Chiba Kazunobu from Division Three. We're currently combining the efforts of both Division One and Three due to the shortage of personnel. With that bomb hoax finally being cleared up, maybe we can get a bit more work done…"

Shinichi bowed slightly. Noticing that Kaito was still standing there sulking, he grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him down into the same position before addressing the officers. He received an impressive scowl from his identical counterpart.

"Domo," he greeted. Sawako repeated him and Chiba waved a bit.

"The truth is that Kudou-kun here wanted to talk to the both of you before you began questioning Kitamura Shiki. It seems that he has a few questions that he would like you to ask the suspect," Megure informed them. Satou looked like she was about to laugh at the suggestion.

"You must be joking, sir," she chuckled nervously. "You can't really expect a kid to have any insight on this case."

"Strangely enough, I do. Anyway, it can't hurt to see where this goes."

"I'll write them down for you," Shinichi offered, ripping off a piece of paper from the notepad on the inspector's desk. He began scribbling each of his questions before setting the pen down and looking over it. Immediately, Kaito grabbed the pen and bumped Shinichi's hip, knocking him sideways.

"Oi, Kuroba!" he hissed.

The boy scribbled a few things down before handing the paper to a bewildered Satou. Shinichi glanced at his writing, frowning at the boy.

"That damn dog is _not _important, Kuroba. Stop wasting their time," he complained. Kaito stuck his tongue out childishly. "Tch…Megure-keibu, is Yamanaka Sawako still here?"

"Why, yes. She should be in with the psychiatrist right now on the fourth floor."

"Thank you." He roughly grabbed Kaito's arm and began dragging him from the room. "Can't you _ever _behave?"

* * *

_GAAAAHHHHH! I love having the boys interact! And as for Chiba's name...well, I am unaware of anytime they have ever said his full name (if you know, tell me) so I just went with the birth name of his voice actor.  
_

_Sorry that I'm late again. The background of this chapter was giving me a hard time... But everything is as it should be (I think) and the plot is progressing!_

_Congrats to **Kayla Edogawa** and **DetectiveConanFan13** for guessing the boy's theories! I won't tell you guys what really happened yet, but they get the points for getting something right! Two free one-shots! JUST TELL ME WHAT TO WRITE, KIDS!_

_Thank you to everyone who reviewed!_

_**Mel72000  
Lazy 3  
Kayla Edogawa  
random reader  
LugiaObssesedKid  
DetectiveConanFan13**_

_-DiGi**  
**_


	15. Too Personal

**(Detective Conan disclaimed)**

_Mah! This should be a little easier when my class hours get lowered next session. _

_

* * *

_

"I know…I heard that she got caught in the crowd," Sharon spoke into the receiver with a smile, glancing at the two chatting girls across the room.

"Ah. Korn should have filed a report by now. Would you like to look at it after you finish your assignment?" the voice on the other end of the line offered mockingly.

"Pass."

"I see…well, maybe you would be interested in another tidbit of information, Vermouth?"

"Hmm?"

"I thought that you would be interested in knowing who is getting chummy with your nephew…" the voice teased.

"And who would that be, anata?" she answered in a similarly sarcastic tone.

"Kudou Shinichi."

That piqued her interest. "Yukiko's son?"

"Hai…Apparently he's been living with him and Mina-chan for a month or so now," the other added.

"Ooh hoo? Really, now…I may just have to pay my sweet, little sister-in-law a visit…"

"That's fine, but do it on your own time. I want Sherry to be at the Inuoshi Company's research lab by nightfall and then you're traveling to America. Rye and Calvados are going to need some help…"

"Ehhhh! Mou, anata…" she whined.

"Don't give me that. You just had a whole week to do as you please," she chided. "You know very well that no one else gets to be treated as well as you…"

Sharon pouted but answered, "Alright…"

"You should go. You know how to reach me if anything happens."

"Hai…" she said with a grin.

"And by 'if anything happens', I mean emergencies. Got that?" the voice added, dashing her hopes.

"Fine…ja." She pressed the red button on her phone, cutting the line, before turning back to the girls. "So, are we ready to leave?"

"Yeah," Akemi responded while her sister settled for glaring. Sharon was used to it by now so she ignored the small scientist. Twirling the keys around her fingertips, she led the girls from the apartment to a black car out front.

After about two hours of driving, and switching cars three times, they finally arrived in a small sub-section of Tokyo. Vermouth, who had decided to drive the whole way, pulled into the parking lot of a bank and parked, informing the girls that they would be walking the rest of the way.

Shiho was thankful that the woman had decided to walk at least four strides behind them, mumbling directions every once in awhile. It gave her the chance to speak privately with her sister.

"Aneue…" she muttered.

"Hmm? What is it?" Akemi asked, glancing at her younger sibling.

"That woman…what do you know about her?"

Akemi stared at her for a moment before answering. "She's Anokata's favorite, I know that much."

"And?"

"_And _nothing. There isn't anything else."

Shiho scowled. "Tch…then why are you trusting her?" she hissed, attempting to raise her voice above the construction not very far from them.

"What are you talking about?" Akemi questioned.

"Do you think I wasn't listening to the two of you last night? About Dai and everything else?"

"Shiho…I…I was going to tell you…"

"When?" Shiho asked heatedly. It grew extremely quiet after that.

"I'm sorry…" Akemi mumbled. Shiho sighed.

"I know…but you really should've-" Shiho was cut off as her shoulder bumped into something. Quickly looking to see what she had hit, she found a boy. He was about the same age and his face wore the same shocked expression.

"Ah, sumimasen…" he muttered before continuing on.

Shiho calmed her thumping heart. She was becoming extremely paranoid due to the Organisation. She hurriedly turned back to her sister.

A few steps behind them, Sharon raised a brow, looking over the boy with a smirk.

_There you are…_

_

* * *

_Sawako smiled when the doctor let Shinichi and Kaito into the exam room to see her.

"Yamanaka-sensei, how are you feeling?" Shinichi asked worriedly.

"Better, I suppose…" she answered sullenly. "But knowing you, Kudou-kun, you haven't come here just to talk…"

He frowned. "I'm afraid not. I have a few questions, if you don't mind."

"Of course. Go ahead."

Shinichi nodded. "I'll start with the simple stuff. Please confirm these with me: during the time in question, you were sitting in traffic on your way to see Kaname about the house. Is this true?"

"Yes," she responded surely.

"You left the apartment of the victim not long after 20:00 and arrived at the house around 21:00?"

"Yes."

"Kaname-san was there when you arrived and when you left, correct?"

"Yes."

"You left at exactly 21:27 and arrived back at the apartments soon after 22:00?"

"Yes."

"How long have you lived in this area?"

"Let's see…a little over three months."

"And your fiancé?"

"I think he's been here all his life, actually…"

"Yamanaka-sensei, were you aware of the rumors going around that Kaname-san and the victim were having an affair?"

The atmosphere in the room quickly turned sharp and cold, Sawako's eyes narrowing.

"I don't like what you're implying Kudou-kun…" she snapped. Kaito jumped, glancing at Shinichi. He was surprised that the boy didn't seem to even bat an eyelash at his former teacher's harsh change in attitude. He remained completely calm.

"I'm not implying anything, Yamanaka-sensei," he said simply. "I was merely asking if you were aware of the rumors."

"Well then, to answer you, yes, I am aware of what my gossiping neighbors say. I can also tell you that they're false."

"Of course," Shinichi said with a soft smile, calming the woman slightly. "I think that's all-"

"Ah!" Kaito cut in. "Actually, can I ask you something as well?" They both stared at him. "I was wondering if it was Kitamura-san that gave you the dog…" Shinichi muttered something under his breath but let it be.

Sawako stared for a moment longer. "Yes, it was. Kenshin is a purebred retriever. She's worth quite a lot of money, actually. I was surprised when she gave her to me."

"Do you know where she got the dog?"

"No, I'm afraid I don't."

"Alright, thank you, Yamanaka-sensei," he said finally, attempting to grab Shinichi's arm and drag him out before she stopped them.

"Wait a moment! Has Kenshin been found?" she asked worriedly.

"No, we're still looking, but we'll tell you the moment she turns up," he answered before pulling Shinichi out and shutting the door.

* * *

"I didn't expect to see you back here anytime soon…" Chianti snickered. Korn stared blankly at her as she tried to sit up painfully.

"Mm…"

"So, what's happened? Why are you here?"

"Anokata. I'm supposed to check your progress…" he answered shortly.

"Ohhh…I see…" she said with a smirk.

"Can you walk?"

"Yeah, I can. Should be running in a couple of days," she lied. The truth was that she had barely been able to stand.

"…I'm leaving for America…" he added.

"Another assignment?"

"Mm."

"Who're you after this time?" she asked ruefully.

"A woman named 'Betty-Ann'. The one who put you here."

"Tch…" she clucked. "Put a bullet between her eyes for me, won't you?"

"Mm."

* * *

"Why? Why do you care so much about the dog?" Shinichi asked in frustration as he and Kaito ambled down the hallway of the Metropolitan Headquarters.

"None of your business…" he retorted. Shinichi frowned, both at Kaito for being an ass and at himself for letting the boy get under his skin.

The truth was that the question kept nagging at his brain. He _really _wanted to know why Kaito was so interested in the dog and what it had to do with the case. Obviously Kaito wasn't going to tell him, and he didn't really think it mattered, so he decided that it could wait until after he had uncovered the culprit of the murder case.

"Just go home, Kaito…I don't even know why you're here…" he mumbled, covering his eyes with his hand.

"For the same reason you are, ahou! I'm gonna solve this case!"

Shinichi sighed. "No, you're not, Kaito."

"Yes I will!" he huffed.

"Have you ever even _tried _solving a murder case before?" Shinichi asked.

"No."

Shinichi glared at him for such a simple response. "It's not as easy as you seem to think it is, Kaito…"

"Tch, there you go again! Calling me 'Kaito'! Why do you keep doing that!"

Shinichi's face twisted in anguish and he sped up, trying to distance himself from Kaito to avoid his embarrassment.

"Oi!"

"I don't realise that I'm doing it, baka!"

"That's a terrible excuse!"

"DAMARE!"

* * *

_Ah...another chapter complete... This one is just a bit shorter but not by much. I hope that everyone caught the implication about Vermouth and Toichi...also, the part about Shiho bumping into someone... XD_

_Anyway, the boys are at it again... -sigh- It won't be long until they're back at home, I promise! This story will be coming to an end soon, so get prepared for the second part! (It is yet to be named, sadly...)  
_

_**Thank You For The Reviews!**_

_Mel72000  
LugiaObssesedKid  
KidTantei  
nequam-tenshi_

_-DiGi  
_


	16. Actions Speak Louder Than Words

**(Detective Conan disclaimed)**

_Class hours have officially been shortened. :P_

_Oh, and my KaiShin bone is aching a little… It must be the platonic nature of this story… That or the rain… -nod-nod-_

_One more thing, when Satou reads Kaito's writing; I can't use strike-through_ so pretend that the underlining is a scratch out of the word, okay?

_

* * *

_

Miwako frowned at the tablet in her hands as she entered the interrogation room. Really! What was Megure-keibu thinking, letting two kids push him around like that? Glancing up at the nervous, middle-aged man, her frown grew. Chiba entered and shut the door behind them as she sat down at the metal table across from the man known as Kitamura Shiki.

"Konbanwa, Kitamura-san," she greeted politely. He nodded in response, barely acknowledging her before returning his anxious stare to the table in front of him. Averting his gaze, cold sweat, wringing his hands: all these were symptoms of a guilty conscience. "Would you like something to eat or drink?" she offered. He merely shook his head in the negative.

Taking a second look at the paper in her hands she decided that she would do better to save them for last and get the more important subjects out of the way.

"Have you been informed of why you're here?" Chiba asked while Miwako browsed the list. He nodded. "And have you been informed of your right to council or that you can waive this right?" He nodded a second time. "Have you contacted an attorney?" A third nod. "Do you wish to answer any questions before this attorney arrives?" Finally, he shook his head no. Chiba nodded and took to leaning against the wall as they waited.

It didn't take long for an elderly man in a black suit to arrive and ask for a few private moments with his client. Chiba and Satou waited outside the room for nearly twenty minutes before the lawyer, a Kisaki Hiroshi, informed them that his client was ready to be questioned. Kisaki was a high-end private attorney, which was no surprise considering the type of underhanded business Kitamura Shiki was a part of. Money is easy to come by on the Black Market.

"So what charge is my client being held on, exactly?" the lawyer asked.

"Your client is a suspect in the murder case of his cousin, Kitamura Rima," Miwako provided. "We just have a few questions regarding his alibi the night of the crime." Formalities continued for a few more minutes but soon Miwako was asking questions pertaining to his whereabouts while Kisaki constantly informed the man that he didn't have to answer any of them. Shiki took this advice more often than not.

It was confirmed that Shiki had been at the crowded tavern, Gendou, from 19:45 until the police collected him early that morning. The statement from the bartender on-duty that evening confirmed him seeing the man numerous times that night, including when the brawl broke out at around 20:00, moments before the victim's death. His alibi was air tight considering that it was impossible for him to kill Rima and return to be present for the fight.

Satou mentally grimaced upon realising that she still had the detective boy's questions to ask. At the top of the paper, in neat handwriting, Shinichi had scrawled a message; _Gauge his reactions. Actions speak louder than words._ The boy was insane.

"I just have a few more questions if you don't mind," she said solemnly. The lawyer nodded and she read off the question exactly has Shinichi had worded it. "How much money did the victim owe you?"

Shiki tensed and refused to answer the question.

"Are you aware of how it looks in the eyes of the law that you have already attempted an attack on the victim?"

"I don't care!" he yelled. "I didn't kill the cheap bitch!"

"Do you have any military experience?" she continued, wanting to get the questions out of the way as soon as possible.

"I'm not sure what this has to do with the case, Keiji-san," Kisaki interrupted before Shiki had the chance to comment.

"I'll continue. Were you aware of the bomb threat that left a ten-mile stretch of the highway useless for nearly a week?" she asked. She was confused by the question's importance as well.

"I don't know nothing' about a bomb, lady," Shiki growled, crossing his arms and sneering.

"Alright. Have you lived in this area for long?"

"All my life. Are we done?"

"One more question." She frowned at said question, trying to make out Kaito's scribbles. He had crossed out a few words. _Did __Rima__ the victim buy __Kenshin__ a purebred retriever from __him__ you? _"Did the victim buy a purebred retriever from you?"

"Yeah, and the bitch never paid for it. Not like I would kill her over it but I better see that money."

"I think that you've wasted enough of my client's time with these silly questions," Kisaki stated with a frown.

"Of course. Thank you for your time," Chiba said as they exited the room. Walking down the hall, Chiba turned to a frustrated Miwako. "Nee, Satou-san? Do you have any idea why that boy would want us to ask questions like that?"

She shook her head. "I have no idea. They're ridiculous. I only asked them because Megure-keibu insisted but I can't imagine that we'll get any leads from it….

When they reached Megure Juuzo's office they found that the boys had returned and were speaking casually with the inspector. Satou knocked on the doorframe to announce their arrival and the conversation stopped as Megure greeted them.

"So how did it go? Did he divulge any important information?" Megure asked in interest. Miwako's frown grew.

"Nothing that I can make out, sir. He didn't actually answer a lot of the questions…"

"I see…"

"What about the list I gave you?" Shinichi piped up.

"Not that the information is useful but he refuses to divulge the amount he was owed by the victim, he insists that he wasn't involved in the crime, he has no military experience nor does he know anything about bombs, and he's lived here all his life. Also, Kuroba-kun, yes, he sold the dog to the victim and that was a large amount of the sum owed to him."

"You're right," Shinichi said with a smile. "The information really isn't important. That's not why I had you ask. How did he react to the questions themselves? Can you go through each one with me?"

"I don't see how this helps-" she started.

"Trust me." She glared at him for a moment, looking in Megure's direction for approval. He nodded. With a sigh, she began the explanation.

"…As to how much he was owed by the victim, like I said, he refused to answer. He became extremely tense about the subject, averting his gaze. He had a cold sweat throughout the interrogation."

"I see," Shinichi muttered, looking off into space and pondering the analysis. "Go on."

"When I asked him about his reputation be became aggressive and insulted the victim. He even alluded back to the money he was owed, calling her 'cheap'," Satou continued as she went back over the events. "The lawyer cut in for his 'military experience' but Kitamura-san merely frowned and became annoyed with the questioning. Regarding the bomb threat, he denied any connection. He lowered his voice angrily and crossed his arms. By then I assume that he just wanted the questioning to end."

Shinichi remained silent for quite awhile after Satou finished, cupping his chin in one hand and leaning forward in his chair. Without so much as a wave goodbye, Shinichi was out of his seat and heading out the door. With a smile, Kaito followed.

"**The game is afoot!**" Kaito mocked him in English.

"Don't start!" Shinichi snarled.

* * *

_I am SO sorry, everyone. -bows- I wasn't expecting this to take so long to be written but I had to do quite a bit of planning in order for the plot to work out and NOT end up with a Deus Ex Machina ending. Mah… and it's so short… I'll be sending the boys home in the next chapter I think… It's about time, right?_

_I am really sorry that this is so short, but it might take me a little while longer to get the next part out and I didn't want to keep everyone waiting that long._

_And this would've been out last night if Ffnet wasn't being such a dick… -glare- …but I make no excuses._

_-DiGi_


	17. Homecoming?

**(Detective Conan disclaimed)**

_I was really hoping to have this out by today, so I'm very glad._

_This chapter in itself is mostly crack and not plot-related, but we'll get to that._

_

* * *

_

"Mou…why did we have to go to that smelly bar?" Kaito whined as they trekked home.

"Gathering evidence, baka," Shinichi answered, still pondering what the bartender said about the night of the brawl. Apparently they had knocked over the jukebox, upturned three tables and even took the clock off of the wall. He had remembered Kitamura Shiki as the man who picked up the clock for him as he police began hauling off the punks who caused the disturbance. He said that Shiki had been sitting by himself the whole night after that.

"My clothes reek of alcohol… If Okaa-san asks, I'm blaming you for it. I hope you know that, Chikushonichi," Kaito continued.

"Feel free," he added sharply as they arrived at the house and made their way to the doorstep.

"I won't if you just tell me why your questions had no relevance to the case…" Kaito prodded.

"I'm not telling you, Kaito!" Shinichi growled as they walked up the front steps. "And they had plenty of evidence. You're just too thick-headed to see it. You won't tell me why you're so interested in the stupid dog so why should _I_ explain _my _evidence?"

Kaito stuck his tongue out as he inserted a key into the lock, knowing very well that his mother would bolt the door regardless of his insistence that no intruder would dare enter the house of a magician.

"That's highly mature of you, Kaito…" he harrumphed in reply, rolling his eyes as they entered.

"You're doing it again," Kaito noted as they began kicking off their shoes.

"Doing what?"

"Calling me by my given name!" Kaito said irritably, hands on his hips as he stood pouting at Shinichi in the foyer. "Mou… you're so familiar all the time. You could at least buy me dinner first, tantei-kun."

Shinichi paled. "Don't even joke about that. And what is with you calling me 'tantei-kun'?"

"I think it's cute! And since you keep calling me 'Kaito', I figured I should call you something other than your family name as well," he explained with a Cheshire Cat-worthy grin before stopping in the doorway of the sitting room.

"Eh? What are you..?" Shinichi began as he peered past the boy to look at what had stopped him in his tracks. Spotting a head of sleek blond hair pulled back into a hair band, Shinichi's eyes widened. "S-Sonoko!" he all but gasped.

The girl looked up from nibbling on a cookie and grinned menacingly at him. "Yo, nazotaku!"

"What are you doing here?" he squeaked slightly. Minami, who had previously gone unnoticed, stood up from the couch with her hands on her hips and frowning at the boy.

"The girls have just informed me of the fact that you haven't called home in weeks, Shinichi-kun," she scolded. Shinichi looked vaguely surprised that she had even said something before realising what was said.

"'_Girls'_?" he asked in confusion.

"Yeah. You're wife and your mistress are making lunch in the kitchen," Sonoko piped up before turning her attention back to the television. Shinichi's face exploded in red.

"I told you, she's not my wife!" he yowled.

"Yet," Sonoko said, brushing him off.

He could suddenly feel daggers poking into his back and noticed Kaito's deadpan look. His face said 'calm', but his body language was screaming 'aggressive'. Shinichi stiffened.

"And Nakamori-san is _definitely _not my mistress," he hissed.

"Are you saying she's not worthy of you, tantei-san?" Kaito questioned in a monotone growl.

"That's not what I said, Kaito!" he yelped.

"Not what who said?"

Entering the room behind the two boys was none other than Nakamori Aoko and Mouri Ran, the former of which quickly brushed by her childhood friend and set a platter of sandwiches on the table in front of the couch. The cold nature of her stare was tearing Shinichi down.

"Nee, Shinichi. Can I speak with you for a moment?" she asked, not waiting for a response before exiting the room and leaving through the front door. Shinichi gulped, all colour having drained from his face. He took a few wobbly steps from the room, dreading what was to come. The room's occupants remained quiet for some time, wondering what was going to happen.

"BAKA!" There were three loud thumps accompanied by a few yelps of pain.

"Gomenasai, Ran! I forgot!" Another thump was heard and Shinichi yelled in pain.

"You 'forgot'! You _forgot _to call for FIVE WEEKS!"

They felt the house shake as another blow was apparently dealt to the detective in Ran's fury. There was silence for awhile after that until two pairs of footsteps were heard in the foyer, one pair strong and confident, the other stumbling.

Ran brushed off her jeans as she entered the room haughtily. Shinichi limped in behind her. His hair was a mess, his jeans covered in dirt and a distinct bruise forming along his cheekbone.

"I apologize for the ruckus, Kuroba-san," she said with a bow, forcing Shinichi to do the same, much like his earlier situation with Kaito at the police station.

"That's quite alright, dear," Minami responded with a smile. "I'm used to things like that by now." Aoko blushed in embarrassment.

"Really, though…" Ran growled, glancing behind her at her bruised and slightly traumatised friend. "You could at least call Agasa…"

Shinichi didn't even see the smirk on Kaito's face before he acted. Grabbing Ran's hand, twirling her once and bowing like a gentleman, he smiled gently.

"En chante, mademoiselle," he said in a sweet baritone before kissing her hand gently. Ran blushed lightly and Shinichi saw red, momentarily forgetting himself as grabbed at the boy's sleeve, knowing exactly where it would be, and threw a confetti bomb in his face. Kaito glared angrily at him once the smoke cleared, his face covered in the black powder used to detonate the trick. Brushing confetti off of his blue jacket, he stomped silently from the room.

After a moment of silence, Sonoko cat-called much to Shinichi's chagrin. "Looks like it's not a love _triangle_ anymore. Tell me, nazotaku. Were you jealous of him being around Ran, or were you jealous of the fact he was attending to Ran and not you?" she chuckled.

"Damare, Suzuki-san!" he snapped before storming out of the room after the other.

"Sonoko!" Ran chimed in. The blond girl simply giggled.

After a few long minutes the boys returned, Shinichi just as upset as when he left but Kaito acted as if nothing had happened. They all settled down to eat around the sandwiches and the chips that Aoko had brought out. Most were animatedly chatting with one another, especially Kaito, and Shinichi found himself elbowing him in the shins when he became too friendly with Ran. Kaito would simply kick him and repeat his actions again not long after. Soon the plate of food was gone and as Minami came back into the room after cleanup she got an idea.

"I would hate for you girls to have to walk all the home. Why don't you stay here for the night?" she offered.

"Oh, thank you but we couldn't do that," Ran declined politely.

"Really! I insist, girls."

"Yeah! You can sleep in my room! I'll give you the bed," he added. "…but I can't promise that I won't be hiding in it."

Shinichi took a heavy book from the coffee table and threw it directly at his groin. Kaito doubled over in pain as it hit its mark and Shinichi stood up.

"I'll escort them to the bus stop." He left no room for argument.

In a few minutes the three of them were outside and walking down the street in an awkward silence.

"Nee, Shinichi. When are you coming home?" Ran asked quietly.

"Ah, well I suppose when I'm done with this case…"

"But you already found him so what else did the client want you to do?" she asked worriedly.

Laughing, he waved his arms in a negative response. "Not that case! That's already done, like you said. No, when I said 'case', I meant the murder of a girl named Kitamura Rima. I'm investigating as a favour to Yamanaka-sensei. You remember her, don't you?"

"The manners lady?"

"Yeah. I know who did it, I just need to find more evidence to prove my theory," he said with a geeky smile.

"Nazotaku…" Sonoko muttered. Shinichi ignored it.

"It shouldn't take too much longer, okay?" he tried to reassure her as they arrived at the bus stop.

"Alright…can you at least message me every now and then? I just like to know for sure, okay?" Ran mumbled. He smiled, wrapping her in a hug.

"Alright, alright. I get it. I'll message you tomorrow if you want." She nodded against his shoulder and they both dropped their arms as the bus pulled up. Sonoko seemed slightly annoyed at their antics and hopped on the bus first.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow, then?" she asked brightly.

"Mm." He nodded and it was all the reassurance she needed. She waved at him as she followed Sonoko up the stairs of the bus. Shinichi watched it go until turning a corner down the street before he decided to turn around. A few minutes walk found him back inside the Kuroba home. Re-entering the living room, he was surprised to find only Kaito.

"Where did everyone go?" he asked the room's only living occupant.

"Okaa-san is walking Aoko home and then she's going to pick up her coat from the dry cleaners…" Kaito muttered.

"I see." Shinichi started to leave before Kaito stopped him.

"You're such a two-timer…" he teased. Shinichi smirked.

"A three-timer if you ask Sonoko…"

"What?"

"Never mind…"

* * *

"_**nazotaku" - **__A__combination of the words nazo, meaning mystery, and otaku, meaning nerd or geek in this sense. It's Sonoko's own little version of endearment toward her best friend's husband._

_

* * *

_

_Well this is a page longer than my last chapter so I'm happy with that. Everyone was excited to see what would happen when Shinichi and Kaito came home to see Ran and Sonoko so… TA-DAH! -waits for applause-_

_Anyway, thanks to everyone who has stuck by me for this story, readers and reviewers alike! I appreciate the continued support!_

_-DiGi_


	18. Lost and Found

**(Detective Conan disclaimed)**

_I'm late… AGAIN. OTL I just can't seem to get the hang of this whole "schedule" thing._

_

* * *

_

Shiho left her apartment that morning in frustration. It seemed that as soon as she had arrived at her new "home", her sister was being dragged off on a mission. She only had a few minutes to get settled herself before she was dragged off to her new job.

It was called Inuoshi Pharmaceuticals; a large company on the border of both the Beika and Ekoda districts of Tokyo. A "compoud" would probably better describe the buildings, however. With barbed-wire fences surrounding the property and armed security guards at every entrance, it seemed more like a prison.

Shiho had arrived early that morning, stepping out of the company car and onto the front steps of the building, but there were already a few employees there to welcome her. One was a middle-aged man that she had met the previous night when Vermouth had introduced her to her new workplace. He held himself in an arrogant stance and only smirked. She did not know his name but figured that was best considering their line of work. The second was young woman, maybe ten years older than herself, and probably the man's daily assistant. The woman had her light brown hair pulled back in a ponytail with her glasses low on her nose and she carried a clipboard, jotting a few notes here and there. She didn't even look up in greeting so Shiho contented to ignore her as well.

"Ohayo, Sherry," the man called as she came up the steps. Shiho merely nodded at him before brushing by and continuing into the building. After numerous security measures were taken to ensure that it was safe to allow her into the building, Shiho was led to a lab and given a floppy disk of files that she would be investigating and experimenting on during her stay. After that, she was left alone to a room of supplies and a computer.

Sitting down in a swivel chair in front of the monitor, she began to boot the system. Placing the old-school floppy disk into the drive, she began to browse through the saved folders and projects.

_421  
Anthrax  
9110  
Pandora  
4583  
000-37  
9456_

They were all fairly normal.

_9115600  
FIX948  
R6-52  
Apoptosis_

She found what seemed to be the biggest file. Searching through the folder, she found extensive research notes. Figuring that she had to start somewhere, Shiho began reading.

She continued examining the notes for weeks and experimenting with the data for a few years to come.

* * *

"Like I said before, boys, I can't let you just waltz in here and investigate. As much as you like to prove yourself otherwise, Kudou-kun, you _are _still a civilian," Megure explained to the boys the next morning when they entered his office asking for any information on what had happened in their absence. Shinichi frowned, glancing at the teenager next to him. He was sure that if Kaito hadn't joined him in his visit that Megure would've been a bit more lenient with him like he always was. Sadly, having Kaito meant that the police had to keep up appearances.

"Please, Megure-keibu. I would just like to know if there were any breakthroughs overnight," Shinichi explained in exasperation.

"Of course not, Kudou-kun. It's only been half a day," Megure told the boys, shuffling the papers on his desk. Shinichi noticed the dark circles under his eyes and the sloppy hand movements. Judging by that and the way the man spoke of the time, he figured that the police officer had been there overnight.

"Nothing? Nothing at all?" he repeated, just to be sure.

The inspector frowned. "Nothing that would interest _you_, Kudou-kun." With that, he turned to Kaito. "_You _might be interested, however."

This piqued Kaito's curiosity. "What is it?"

"We found the dog this morning."

"And?" Kaito prodded.

"She was perfectly healthy. A little dirty from running around town, but she seemed to be very happy to see Yamanaka-kun."

"Did she bark?" Kaito asked excitedly. Shinichi hid his face in his hands.

"No, actually, she didn't. She just ran up to the woman and wagged her tail and then laid down at her feet," Megure said, still unsure about how much he should really tell the boy.

"And where is Kitamura-sensei now?" Kaito asked brightly. Shinichi frowned, painfully aware that he was up to something.

"She's been staying in a complimentary room on the fourth floor since her only place to stay has turned into a crime scene."

"And the dog is still with her, right?" he continued.

"Yes," Megure replied. "It's room number fourteen, if you would like to see her-" Megure hadn't even finished the sentence before Kaito bounded out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Shinichi called anxiously. Whatever the magician was doing, there was no way it could be a good thing.

"None of your bee's wax, tantei-kun!" Kaito called from the hallway. Shinichi just closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You're so immature…" he muttered.

"Should I be worried, Kudou-kun?" Megure asked apprehensively.

"No. He's harmless most of the time," Shinichi tried to assure the man. It failed miserably, but the boy continued. "Anyway, thank you for your time, Keibu-san." He bowed politely before leaving the room. He had no intention of following Kaito so he chose to question some of the officers instead.

* * *

It was silent for a long time as Chianti and Calvados stared at each other. She had started walking, rather weakly but improving. It was still too slow however.

Calvados informed the woman that a few members in the Organisation were having doubts in her ability to recover in such a short span of time. Chianti began to panic. If the Organisation thought her to be useless, Chianti wouldn't survive for long. Even the smallest of doubts could fester in their minds and seal her fate. There was no need to talk about it either, since it was an obvious fact that both she and Calvados would know. It was just how things were done.

"Two weeks left, Chianti." That was all Calvados said as he stood and left the room. Chianti nodded silently, watching him leave.

Their conversations were always awkward and comprised mainly of short statements that needed no response; this made them quite brief as well. Chianti wondered why he even bothered to actually visit with her when he could simply question the doctors and be on his way in minutes. Instead, he chose to sit in her room for at least half an hour every few days. Apparently Anokata had decided that the Betty-Ann case could wait for his aid and he had been the Organisation's errand boy ever since.

Slowly, Chianti stood from the chair she had taken when Calvados arrived and began moving around the room as quickly as possible. It made her legs burn angrily as she continued for a few diligent hours.

She only stopped once the doctors came in to give her pain medication.

* * *

"**Nowhere to go, lady!"** Akemi called from behind the cover of a crate as she reloaded her gun. Not far away was Korn but Vermouth was nowhere to be seen and neither was Dai. They had always been lone rangers and she expected no different from them now.

A few shots rang out from across the empty lot of the cargo dock. The woman, Betty-Ann, was taking cover behind a large, metal shipping container. All four of the goons she had with her were laying dead in the lot, blood splattering the area. The four Organisation members had ambushed her during a deal in San Francisco and she barely got away without injury.

Dai's voice came over the headset. _"I have a clear shot from the southMMPH!"_

"Rye?" Akemi said through the speaker. "You there, Rye? What's happening?"

There was no response and they could hear a few gunshots in the distance.

"_Rye: What's your status?" _Korn questioned.

"_Pinned down…"_ he muttered, background noise consisting of gunfire.

Akemi waited until the shots from Betty-Ann stopped before getting ready for the assault. "Hey, Korn. Cover me for a second."

Korn nodded, raising up to fire a few shots as Akemi dashed toward the shipping container and aiming around the opposite side, hoping to catch the woman unaware.

She was shocked to find Dai standing there with a gun pointed at her face.

"What the _hell _are you doing!" she yelled. He lowered the gun in surprise.

"**Who is this, Akai-kun?" **the blonde woman asked from behind him.

"**Akemi,"** he stated simply to the woman before turning back. "Akemi, this is a partner of mine from the FBI, Jodie."

"You _can't _help her right now!" Akemi hissed. "Korn is here, and Vermouth may be helping us, but she's not going to blow her cover just to help!"

"That's fine," the woman, Jodie, said in perfect Japanese. "My back-up will be here soon and I'll escape that way."

"Sorry, but you have to be unconscious for this to work," Dai stated with a frown.

"Wha-"

Out of nowhere, he slammed the butt of the gun into her forehead and she fell to the ground.

"**You could have warned her a little better…" **Jodie said before firing a few more shots at Korn, smiling at the sound of a helicopter getting closer. **"Might wanna get outta here."** Turning around, she found that Akai had already disappeared.

Meanwhile, Vermouth watched as "Dai" snuck away and whipped out her phone. Typing a few keys, she sent a mail message to Anokata.

_Betty-Ann escaped. FBI are involved again. ;)_

_-V_

As she walked back to join the others and regroup, she waited for the text jingle. Flipping it open, she read:

_Do they really think that they're fooling us? lol_

_Come back home. You can have that vacation. TWO DAYS._

Vermouth smiled. She was finally going to go visit her "beloved family".

* * *

_I love you all. I love you all SOOOO MUCH. Sorry again for the terrible update schedule. OTL_

_I'm very depressed about how quickly this story is ending though, so maybe that's why I keep putting off the updates. I have announced the sequel on my profile page, however. It will be called _**Reasonably Complex**. "_This story will take place during the early events of canonical _Detective Conan_. This story is still AU and certain events may be slightly altered. Certain points from the first story will be explained in detail and now everyone will get to see all the characters that we know and love and I'll reap the fruits of the altered time line. I hope that everyone will enjoy it once my first story comes to a close." And that is copied directly from the page._

_Anyway, thanks for your continued support! And thank you to-_

**nequam-tenshi,**

**Conan's best deduction,**

_and_

**Ginshi-chan,**

_- who all commented on the last chapter!_

_-DiGi_


	19. Tying Up Loose Ends

**(Detective Conan disclaimed)**

_So as the story starts winding down it's been getting more and more difficult for these chapters to come out the way I want them. Clues are hard to keep track of, did you know that?_

* * *

Chianti was beyond flustered, she was in an all-out panic. Waking up that afternoon had been a challenge due to her newfound drowsiness and she suspected that the doctors had changed the dosage of the pain killers. She did not expect to find herself alone in the complex when she began searching for one of the employees to question about her plight. Gathering anything useful at a breakneck speed, Chianti changed into a spare set of sweats and began searching the building for a way out.

The only logical reason for her to be alone would be that the Organisation had deemed her continued existence unnecessary and were about to "clean house".

She had gone around for nearly five minutes in a flurry of limbs as she tried prying open the doors and windows to no avail. Peering outside, she couldn't see or hear anything to suggest that there were agents nearby; perhaps they thought the drugs would sedate her longer. Picking up scalpel from one of the exam rooms, Chianti began to pound at the glass in hopes of weakening it. Reasoning that she had done enough, she dropped the scalpel and instead picked up a metal chair, closing her eyes as it shattered the glass. She set it down below the heightened window before struggling to heave herself up and out of the dingy building and out into the streets below. Tightening her grip around the bag of supplies on her shoulder, Chianti dashed down the alley painfully.

She found that as soon as she disappeared into a more heavily populated street, there was a small explosion and she turned to see the area she had just left in a ball of flames. Sneering at their audacity, she quickly made her escape into the crowded streets of Shinjuku.

* * *

"I'm a bit surprised that Kudou-kun isn't with you," Sawako commented as she and Kaito sat down in the kitchen area. Kaito had been so interested in the dog's safe return that she hadn't had a single qualm about letting the boy talk to her. Setting a mug of tea in front of herself and Kaito, she sat down opposite him. Kenshin quietly padded over and rested her head on Sawako's lap for a quick scratch behind the ears before curling up on the floor at her feet.

"He's too busy fishing," Kaito said, brushing it aside. _Yeah, fishing for red herrings… _He mentally winced at his own fish humour.

"I see. He always was a curious one," the instructor replied, taking a small sip of the tea. Kaito mirrored her, glancing down at the pup below her chair.

"You said that her name was 'Kenshin', right?" he questioned politely. Sawako smiled softly in return.

"Yes." Kaito nodded, glancing around the room. For complimentary quarters it wasn't too shabby. "Do you know what that means, Kuroba-kun?" His attention snapped back to her.

"Devotion?" he guessed. It seemed to be the most logical choice in writing. She nodded. "Ne, Yamanaka-sensei, did you name her?"

"No, Rima named her before she gave her to me and she really is the most devoted girl in the world."

It was then that Kaito finally decided on his theory, realising their misinterpretation.

"Thank you so much for the tea, Yamanaka-sensei," Kaito said as he stood up, bowed slightly, and rushed out. Sawako smiled after him. Kaito smirked as he ran down the hallway to find Shinichi.

Who was more devoted? Kenshin or Rima?

* * *

Shinichi, on the other hand, was having a less than productive morning. After question Satou, Chiba, and a few other officers for the greater part of thirty minutes, he had only accomplished one thing: worsening their moods considerably. Frowning, he tried his best to sort through the evidence he had as he sat quietly in Megure's office. The inspector didn't mind as long as Shinichi was silent and stayed out of everyone's way. Scribbling on a tablet, Shinichi began listing the information, drawing lines of connections and crossing out logical fallacies.

Megure had always known the boy to be a genius so he wasn't surprised at all when Shinichi jumped up after about ten minutes and declared the case solved. He told Megure to bring all three of the suspects to the victim's apartment so that he could point out the culprit before dashing out of the room. The inspector sighed as he picked up the office phone and rang to Satou, informing her of the situation so that she and Chiba could gather everyone involved. The phone hadn't even touched the receiver before the detective's near twin came bursting into the room, claiming that he too had solved the case.

"Well, feel free to meet us at the crime scene, Kaito-kun. Kudou-kun has already left to make preparations for his 'unveiling'," Megure stated gruffly as he stood and pulled his ID and gun from his desk, securing the handcuffs in his pocket.

Kaito's face fell. "He figured it out?"

"Seems so."

Kaito pouted angrily, dashing out the door and down the halls. Megure sighed, wondering if this would be the first of many dark days involving competing detectives.

* * *

"**Jodie-kun, that was much too dangerous," **James scolded as he sat in the back of the FBI sedan with one of his most-prized agents. The leader of the FBI had quickly learned of the backfired mission with the Raven Organisation and was contemplating the idea of closing all missions related to them for the time being. He already had two agents involved with the group, one deep undercover and very close to the inner circle.

"**I know, I know, James. But there's really nothing I could've done 'bout it. I'm surprised that Akai hasn't been killed yet for his involvement," **she added solemnly. **"'Cause we'd know, right? If he got hurt?"**

"**It's possible,"** James concluded, glancing out the window at the Washington D.C. skyline. It grew very quiet between the two for the rest of the trip to headquarters.

The program was obviously too important to shut down and James knew this so he was forced to continue sending agents to their deaths at the hands of this mysterious organisation in black. After personally working the case for more than three decades, James only wished to close it and get rid of the bastards involved.

Thinking of the Black Organisation only made his mind wander to the portfolio in the top, right drawer of his desk. The folder contained a list of fifty-three names; all agents who had been killed-in-action investigating the syndicate. As he looked at Jodie and thought back to the two agents in Japan, as well as in other parts of the world, he hoped and prayed to any and all gods that no more names would need to be added.

_

* * *

_

_I'm actually cutting this one a bit short because I think the next part will be too long to fit into one chapter and I don't want this thing to be 10 pages long. :P_

_I would also like to take this time to thank:_

**nequam-tenshi  
yueli-chan  
Ginshi-chan  
A Midsummer Night's Dreams**  
and the wonderful**  
mangaluva**

…_for their reviews and support! I love you guys!_

_-DiGi_


	20. Three Deductions

**(Detective Conan disclaimed)**

_I can explain._

_You see, there was a plot hole in the solution that, if left as was, would've made the end completely impossible. I have had to take the time to create a work around in order for it to make sense. I apologize for this and the time it has taken to complete. The hole has been filled (rather amateurishly, with depresses me greatly) but the story is finally coming to a conclusion!  
_

_

* * *

_

"Alright, boys. Let's hear it," Inspector Megure commanded exasperatedly. He looked tired and seemed to have resigned himself to the fact that he wasn't going to get the chance to finish anymore work until he had heard the boys out.

Standing behind him in Rima's apartment were the three suspects. The first, Yamanaka Sawako, was fidgeting as she glanced at the rope involved in her young pupil's death. To her left was her fiancé, Kishio Kaname. He was watching Sawako worriedly and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. She shrugged it off stubbornly. Not far away was Kitamura Shiki, the victim's cousin. He was frowning angrily at both the detectives and the couple, his mood most likely drawn from the metal cuffs on his wrists. He fiddled with them, hands red and raw. The group seemed to be about as happy about being at the scene of Rima's death as the Inspector himself. They became even more frustrated at the boys' claims.

"It was murder," Shinichi stated casually alongside Kaito's shout of, "It was suicide!" Both boys glanced at each other warily for a moment before spouting gibberish at each. Kaito's argument mainly comprised of telling the other that he was arrogant while Shinichi downgraded Kaito's experience.

"Boys," the Inspector cut in agitatedly.

"Fine! If you're so smart and _experienced_ why don't you go first, _Mei-tan-tei-kun_?" Kaito offered mockingly. Shinichi simply frowned and took a step forward, addressing the crowd.

"Of course. First of all, I would like to thank you all for joining me. This won't take long," he began. "First off, Yamanaka-san." She frowned slightly, staring directly at him.

"Yes?"

"I remember once, when you were my tutor, that you used a rope to keep me in place and improve my posture. You've also done this with other students; correct?"

She paused, frown growing before answering. "…Yes. They'll testify to that…"

"And, Yamanaka-san, the rope that the victim was hanged with; is it possible that it was one of your ropes?"

"…It could…"

"During the time of the incident, you claim to have been stuck in a traffic jam, one caused by a bomb threat we now know to be false."

"Yes. It took a long time to get through," she answered calmly.

"Were you aware that if you took the east bridge, you would have cut off half of your time?"

"Yes, but I only realised that after I was stuck."

"I see," Shinichi quipped. "And you also know that route, don't you Kishio-san?"

"Ah…yes. I do," Kishio Kaname answered in surprise.

"The same goes with Kitamura Shiki, am I right?" Shinichi continued. The man in question simply scowled and looked away. "I'll take that as a yes. Moving on. I would like you to recall the wounds on Kitamura-san's neck." He pulled a picture from the inside pocket of his jacket. "You'll notice the numerous vertical lines that criss-cross the rope burn. These are Yoshikawa lines, the injuries a victim of strangulation receives when they claw at the offending object on their throats. Kitamura-san was trying to pull the rope off of her neck. Why would she do that if she wished to kill herself?" He pointed the rhetorical question at Kaito who simply looked away with a pout.

"The answer is: she wouldn't. This was clearly a murder." The boy then pulled a plastic bag from his pocket, holding it up for the whole room to see. Inside was the crumpled handkerchief, no longer wet with tears and saliva, but still leaving the dark stains of salt and DNA.

"This is a handkerchief that was found to have been stuffed behind the victim's desk over there." He pointed to the desk not two metres away. It was the same that had been used to kill the victim.

"It wasn't stuffed. It fell," Kaito interjected but Shinichi ignored him.

"This handkerchief has traces of saliva and tears from the victim. The wetness on the victim's face proves that she had been crying in fear due to the attack and this was most likely shoved into her mouth to keep her quiet while the murderer wound the rope," Shinichi concluded.

"What about the dog?" Megure asked impatiently. "How did the murderer keep the dog quiet. There weren't any signs of abuse and no one was found with any drugs on their person."

"That's simple. Kenshin chose not to bark. She _knew_ the murderer. She knew you," he began, pointing past the Inspector, "Yamanaka Sawako."

The woman paled, frowning at the accusation. "And what makes you so sure of that?" she murmured angrily.

"Kenshin is completely quiet in your presence. She's a very well-trained dog, isn't she? It strikes me as odd that she would bark if you were there. Not to mention the fact that you easily had enough time to murder Kitamura-san AND make it to the new house without incident by using the east bridge," he explained.

"I would be counting on a chance traffic jam as an alibi. Seems shaky," Sawako added with frustration.

"Not if you were the one to call it in. Burn phones are pretty cheap," he answered. "But you know what really got me thinking? It was the testimony of a neighbour. Do you know what she said, Kishio-san?" Shinichi directed his attention to her fiancé. He visibly paled. "'I love you! That's all I ever wanted to say! But you're with _Sawa-chan _so I can't!' An affair? Sounds like motive to me."

Kishio spluttered a bit, red in the face, but couldn't keep eye contact with his intended.

"You were sleeping with Rima?" Sawako asked as calmly as she could.

"No! Of course not! You've got it all wrong!" he shouted in his defence. "Rima-chan wasn't in love with _me, _Sawako!"

The room went silent. Kaname's words had shocked everyone, especially Shinichi.

"Of course not," Kaito chirped happily. "That's because Kitamura-san was in love with Yamanaka-sensei." Kaito bounded heavily in front of the other boy. "And that's where _my _deduction comes in. This was suicide. Yamanaka-sensei took no part in it."

"This is no time for games, Kaito," Shinichi muttered half-heartedly. He was obviously rethinking his plan.

"After looking through the victim's cell phone, I bet none of you even bothered to look at the Drafts. There are several unsent messages that were directed at Yamanaka-sensei but never sent. Not to mention that Kenshin's name means "Devotion". She was a gift from Kitamura-san, isn't that right?" Sawako nodded. "And as for the handkerchief; Kitamura Rima was crying. Let me paint you a picture.

"Rima was desperately in love with Sawako, who is intended for her fiancé, Kaname. Sawako and Kaname are very happy together but Rima begins to feel that Kaname resents her because she's always taking up Sawako's time. Kaname confronts her about this but was shocked to find that Rima was in love with his fiancée. How am I doing so far, Kishio-san?" Kaito asked.

Kaname nodded, face red in embarrassment.

"Rima, knowing that Sawako truly loves Kaname, feels that they should be together but feels that her existence, being so closely tied to Sawako, is keeping them separate. She decides that the only way for them to be happy together is to remove herself. Steeling herself, she took the rope from Sawako and Kaname's home, along with a few of the interior design plans that Sawako herself had overseen. She knew that Sawako would eventually need to leave in order to fix the problem and that's when she would do it. She started crying the moment Sawako walked out the door. It didn't take long for her to string herself up from the ceiling and dangle to her death."

By the end of Kaito's explanation, Sawako had broken down in tears while Kaname attempted to console his future wife.

"So it really was a suicide…" Megure sighed, seemingly pleased with the deduction. "That means everyone can-"

"That doesn't explain the Yoshikawa lines," Shinichi interjected.

"You said that she was up there a long time, Meitantei-kun. Maybe she got scared for a bit before she went back to it?" Kaito answered moodily.

"No, wait a moment," Shinichi said, brain going a mile a minute.

"I'm right and you know it!" Kaito countered.

"I didn't say you weren't! Now be quiet for a second!"

As much as Shinichi hated to admit it, Kaito was right, but there was still something nagging him in the back of his head. Something wasn't right, but what? Everything had been explained so why did a few defensive marks strike him as odd? He took a look at the photos of Rima's body once again. The tear-stained face, the scratched neck, the diagonal lines on her ankles from the ropes, the…

Wait.

He stared intently at the photo of her ankles, taking in every detail. He hadn't noticed it before, but the dark bruises were slanted, starting higher on the inside of her ankle, where the largest bruises were, before sloping down to the outside, almost to the bottom of her foot. It was as if the ropes had been pulled down. He quickly kneeled down to look at the angle of the desk.

"Kudou-kun, we don't have time for this. The girl hanged herself," Megure prodded.

"Yeah," he answered quietly. He stared at the bottom of the desktop and measured its height from the floor with his eyes. It was nearly even with the height of the victim's feet from the floor. If anything, the rope marks should've been slanted up… "I've got it." Shinichi's world-class smirk had returned, plastered grandly on his face.

"Got what?" Kaito asked.

"Thank you, Kaito," he said gratefully. "You got most of it right."

"'Most of it'? What do you mean, 'most of it'?" he asked angrily.

"Kitamura Rima attempted suicide, that much is true, but she didn't succeed. Or at least, she wouldn't have if not for a little help. Isn't that right, Shiki-san?"

The entire room turned their attention to the victim's cousin.

"What are you talking about? I already told you I didn't kill the bitch!" he shouted fervently.

"I bet you were ecstatic when you found her hanging from that rope. You had come to kill her, but now you weren't even going to need to dirty your hands…"

"Shut your mouth, brat!"

"Kudou-kun…" the inspector warned. It was overlooked.

"You were fed up with it, weren't you? Her owing you so much money and never even trying to pay it back It made you mad, didn't it? That much money…"

"Stop!"

"But that was all going to change once she was dead, right? You were going to collect from her parents because of the insurance. You would get your money and she'd be dead. And how easy it would be! She was already half way there by the time you arrived."

"That's right! I would've been on my way, too! If that bitch wasn't such a coward!" Shiki screamed madly.

"Ah… She was going to back out. She had the rope around her neck, about to die, but she just couldn't go through with it, could she? She was going to take the rope off and live. You saw her reaching for the rope around her ankles and you acted. You grabbed the ropes that were wrapped around her ankles and you pulled on them didn't you? She panicked and tried to pull the rope off her neck but she just couldn't. You held on. You held on until she stopped moving…"

"Bitch deserved it! She was useless! She could never survive on her own! That's why she was having _her _teach her how to be a proper lady! So she could snag some poor, rich bastard and have him take care of her for the rest of her sad life!"

It was a confession. It was crude, but it was a confession. The boys watched as two police officers dragged the screaming man from the room. Kaito turned back to his sullen twin.

"You got all that just from some scratch marks?" he asked sceptically.

"Those were too deep to be a passing thought. It made me revisit the evidence," Shinichi said, watching the man get dragged from the room.

"What about his alibi?"

"The clock." Kaito stared questioningly and Shinichi sighed. "The bartender told us that Shiki put the clock back on the wall and it read 20:00, right? We'll probably find a discrepancy in the disturbance report that says that the fight was much shorter than it was."

"Oh…"

Shinichi seemed proud of his accomplishment but he tensed when Sawako walked over to them. He was unable to look at her.

She punched him in the shoulder. Shinichi yelped.

"That was for accusing me," Sawako muttered. There was a pause before she wrapped her arms around him gently. "But thank you. Both of you. For sending that man to jail." She pulled away, smiling gently at them before leaving with Kaname.

"Y-you're welcome," Kaito answered shyly.

Shinichi just mumbled, "I…I don't need thanks…"

* * *

_So, there's probably only about a chapter or so left to finish up everything. :)_

_Once again, I apologize for the HUGE delay but we all know that shit happens some times._

_THANK YOU to every one of my lovely reviews, favorites, and alerts! I love each and every one of you!_

_**-DiGi**  
_


	21. Conclusion and Epilogue

**(Detective Conan disclaimed)**

_Spring Break! Whoohoo! You know what that means, right?_

_Slaving away for hours at another story…_

_Here's the final chapter of _Ridiculously Simple. _Thank you for reading. -bows-_

* * *

"So I suppose you'll be going back home then, Kudou-kun?" Nakamori Aoko asked sadly, standing next to Kaito and Shinichi in front of the bus stop. Shinichi smiled at her.

"Yeah, but don't worry. You've still got Kuroba and I'm sure I'll be back sometime. I'm only in the next district over," he chuckled. He glanced at Kaito who seemed to be interested in everything but him. "Hey."

Kaito looked to him momentarily before averting his eyes again. "Yeah?"

"…good job."

Kaito was surprised, choosing to stare at him like he'd grown an extra head. "…what?"

"I said, 'good job', Kuroba," Shinichi responded in irritation. "On the case. You got most of it right and that's pretty good for an amateur. Maybe you should look into the field of investigation."

"Ah, thanks but no thanks," Kaito said, recovering from the shock. "I've got my own plans. I'm going to be the world's most fantastic magician. I'll be the world's greatest puzzle maker!"

Shinichi smiled genuinely at the comment. "Yeah? Well, I'm going to be the best detective that ever lived. I'll be the world's greatest puzzle solver, so watch out." They both laughed and Aoko smiled brightly at the sudden benevolence between the two. They were finally getting along.

The bus pulled up a few moments later, the doors sliding open to beckon passengers. Shinichi looked over with interest before turning back to them. "Well, it was great meeting both of you. Nakamori-san. Kuroba." He nodded to both before picking up his bag and skipping onto the steps of the bus.

Aoko and Kaito waved goodbye as the bus pulled away, taking the detective with it.

"I'm gonna miss him…" Aoko pondered quietly. Kaito gave her an incredulous look.

"Well, I sure as hell won't. Arrogant prick…" he muttered darkly. Aoko only smiled, knowing very well that Kaito was lying when he said he wouldn't miss him. Kudou Shinichi had become a new constant in their lives that would be hard to let go of.

She couldn't help but wonder when they would see him again as they walked back home that evening. She was rather fond of him…

* * *

**TWO YEARS LATER**

* * *

Kuroba Kaito, sixteen-years-old, flipped off the station airing the latest news on the KID heist. He sighed.

"Eight years ago… that's the same year of Dad's accident," he muttered angrily, remember the day's events. He had publicly challenged Kaitou KID in front of his whole class because of Aoko's prompting. She said he couldn't beat KID no matter how good of a magician he was. _I'll show her!_

He leaned back, looking at his Dad's portrait on the wall. "Not to be cocky, but…"

"_Kaito. Remember, no matter where you are… always keep a good poker face." _His dad had told him that. Standing up to go look at the picture closer, he remembered that line.

_Dad_… he thought back fondly, gently touching the canvas.

**CLICK **

"…huh?"

Suddenly, the portrait rotated and before he had a chance to catch himself, Kuroba Kaito was whisked down the secret chute into his new life.

* * *

"How can you be so calm after that!" Ran sobbed as they walked through the park.

"Oh, I've been around a lot of crime scenes, so I see a lot of bodies in pieces," Shinichi replied happily, trying to cheer her up. It wasn't working. Seeing the guillotined body of the rollercoaster murder victim seemed to be too much for the teenage girl.

"Oh my god!" she wailed harder.

"Hey, just forget about it, okay?" he said softly. "This kind of thing happens a lot!"

"IT DOES NOT!" She only cried harder as he tried to console her, but something caught his attention. A portly man in a black suit that had been at the earlier crime scene was looking around suspiciously before ducking into an alley.

"Hm? Sorry, Ran! Go ahead of me!" he called back to her, having already headed after the skeptical figure.

"Eh?"

"I'll catch up with you!"

"Shi… Shinichi?"

_He's leaving…_

_Why did I have that feeling?_

_A very bad feeling…_

_The feeling that I would never see Shinichi again…_

Ran couldn't help but worry as she watched her childhood friend dash away on another case.

"Sorry I made you wait, C.E.O.-san," the man said coolly, arriving on the scene. Shinichi watched quietly from the shadow of a building close-by.

"I came by myself, like you said!" the newcomer nearly shouted. He was bald, rich man, judging from the condition of his clothing. The briefcase in his hand was nearly thrown at the man in black. "C'mon, give me that thing!"

"I know you came alone. I saw from the top of that rollercoaster. Don't be so impatient," he said, taking the briefcase. "The money comes first."

The man opened the case quickly. "Here! There's no problem, right!"

Shinichi's eyes nearly popped out of his head. _W-whoa… that's got to be at least 100 million yen…_

"Alright, the deal's complete! Now gimme the film!"

"Here you go," the man in black said, flipping the small container into his hands as he took the briefcase for himself. "The film of your company's gun smuggling. You shouldn't be so naughty," he teased.

Shinichi noticed the seriousness of the situation, opting to get out his disposable camera to take photos of the situation.

"Shut up!" the C.E.O. complained. "Compared to you guys, we're-"

"For your sake, I wouldn't finish that sentence."

"You filthy hyenas!"

Too engrossed with the plot unfolding before him, Shinichi didn't notice the man's partner sneaking up on him from behind.

"You're detective game…" he heard someone mutter, but before he could even turn to discern the owner of the voice, there was a splitting pain on the back of his head and neck. Lurching forward, he suddenly met the ground. "…is over!"

He could slightly make out the two men arguing after that, fading in and out of consciousness. For a moment, he thought that they were just going to shoot him and be done with it, but he was sorely mistaken. Feeling the calloused hand of his attacker grip the hair and pull his head back, he tried to make out his face with unfocused eyes.

"So this'll be our little guinea pig," he heard one of them say as a small object was placed on his tongue. He tried to muster up the strength to spit it out, but it was no use. Cool water was poured in after, forcing him to swallow whatever he had been given.

The man's next words were crystal clear in the haze that surrounded him.

"So long, detective," the man said in a voice that Kudou Shinichi would not soon forget.

The next thing he knew was searing pain. It felt like his body was on fire. As he gripped onto the grass, grunting from the pain, he wondered if he was about to die.

As he slipped into unconsciousness, he had no idea what fate had in store for him once he awakened…

* * *

_And that's the end of _Ridiculously Simple.

_I hope that everyone enjoyed this story even though it has taken so long to complete! I will be continuing on with _Reasonably Complex_ very soon so I hope that everyone will join me again for that!_

_Thank you to all of my reviewers, watchers, and favers. You kept me moving! Thank you so much!_

_And that's all for now!_

_**-DiGi**_


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